So this is the Coen brothers’ love letter to Old Hollywood. There is a plot to it, about Communists kidnapping a star, but mostly it’s watching a studio exec go through a day dealing with a series of absurd crises while giving the Coens the chance to stage: 1) a cowboy action scene, 2) a big underwater Busby Berkeley style synchronized swim dance, 3) a song and tapdance number with some sailors that heightens the subtext, 4) a British-accent melodrama, and 5) the titular Roman movie that’s actually about Jesus.

It’s a bagatelle, but it’s fun as hell.