I didn't watch Barton, but I did catch films called Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, and Blood Simple. And I loved them all. At some point my film interest or snobbery matured to the point where I started learning the names of directors I liked, and I realized that I had an actual reason for associating those films together in my mind: Joel and Ethan Coen.

When their critically aclaimed Fargo got released a few years later, I heard someone say that Fargo might just be one of the greatest films of all time. I agreed, but I didn't think it was The Coens' best. Because I had finally gotten around to seeing Barton Fink.

By that time (four years later? five?) I'd forgotten about Chuck's recommendation, maybe because it's not about John Goodman's character at all. It was only when I was recommending and describing the film as a video store clerk that I realized how Chuck had rightfully foreseen what my favorite film would someday be.

It's about a New York playwright paying his dues in Hollywood for a spell. Small, magnificent cast. Tight plot and editing. It's a quiet movie that tackles big themes. It's high art vs. low art. It's the life of the body versus the life of the mind. It's John Goodman's and John Turturro's finest performances to date. Funny. Twisted. Incredibly fun. And like all the other Coen Brothers films, it not only holds up to multiple viewings, but the Coen films I favor most are the ones I've seen the most times.

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