Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a wonderful '80s comedy, the type we don't see any longer. Today the humor, for the most part, is vulgar. For some reason, in the '80s, comedies were actually funny.
Michael Caine and Steve Martin are two con man who wind up competing on the Riviera. Caine is a classy con man, Lawrence Jamieson, targeting rich widows as he sports different accents claiming he's funding a revolution for his country, helping the poor, the hungry, etc. Martin is Freddy Benson, lower class but after the same targets.
Freddy asks Lawrence to tutor him in the art of the high-class con. Freddy doesn't want him around as he feels the Riviera isn't big enough for both of them. Freddy, however, isn't leaving. So they agree on a bet. The first one to strip a young heiress (Glenne Headly) of $50,000 stays, and the other leaves.
What follows is hilarious. Both men are at the top of their game here. Steve Martin can make you laugh with a facial expression. The scene where he attempts to "walk" after being in a wheelchair is a riot. Caine as Lawrence is brilliant as a suave sophisticate, and his getting the better of Freddy in several scenes is a delight. The end has a neat twist.
This film was adapted into a successful Broadway musical, and it is opening in London starring Robert Lindsay ("My Family"). It's a fun story. Wish today we had more like this.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
1988
Action / Comedy / Crime
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
1988
Action / Comedy / Crime
Plot summary
Wealthy native Brit Lawrence Jamieson, living in Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, earns most of his money through big cons on wealthy unsuspecting women. With the help of his associates, corrupt Police Inspector Andre, who provides him most of his intel, and his butler Arthur, he pulls scams such as pretending to be a foreign deposed Prince who needs money to finance a secret war to liberate his people. Beaumont-sur-Mer, and thus his world, is invaded by brash American Freddy Benson, another con man whose targets are also wealthy unsuspecting women. Lawrence believes Freddy is the Jackal, a con man whose true identity is unknown, but who is known to be working his way through Europe. While Lawrence works on thousands of dollars per scam, Freddy works only on tens or if he is lucky hundreds of dollars. Lawrence's efforts to get Freddy out of his territory are unsuccessful, so when Freddy figures out that Lawrence is a con man like he is, he decides to blackmail Lawrence to work under him to learn the art of the sophisticated and thus earn more lucrative con. Eventually, Lawrence and Freddy have a difference in how to operate their joint cons, so they issue each other an ultimatum: the person who is able to con a mark out of fifty thousand dollars first will get the French Riviera as their territory, with the other having to leave forever. Who they choose is naive and slightly bumbling American "soap Queen" Janet Colgate, who has just arrived in the area. The nature of how each tries to get the fifty thousand dollars from Janet changes over time, each needing to play off the other's con. But their focus may change with more information learned about the situation, as well as some external factors they did not anticipate.
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whatever happened to the funny comedies of the '80s?
In A Word: Hilarious!
I really don't watch this movie often enough. The few times I've seen it over the years provide superior entertainment, but it's a film I seem to forget about. That shouldn't be the case: it's a terrific movie.
I've never met anyone who did NOT like this movie. It seems to appeal to a lot of people, young and old. The three leads - Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenn Headley - were all in top form, on top of their "game," so to speak.
Martin's facial expressions and physical humor are terrific and Caine played his part magnificently, too. I enjoy Caine much more in here than Martin (and in most films) but Steve seems to have the funniest moments in this movie. At any rate, both are superb as antagonists "Lawrence Jamison" (Caine) and "Freddie Benson" (Martin). The two men have the talent to pull off slapstick as well as subtle comedy. Headley, as "Janet Colgate," meanwhile, is a joy to watch and to listen to, with that sweet voice of hers. I can't say more about her without giving away too much but she is not only the objection of attention in the movie, but the key character. These three combine for almost a laugh-a-minute.
This also is a good example of how to make a modern-day comedy without all the sleaze and profanity. There is some in here, but not much. Why most comedies do not follow this lead is a sad question. It's still an adult movie about con men, not a film teens and below would enjoy. Frank Oz, who directed other pretty clean-and-funny movies, directed this one.
Highly recommended.
Pleasant and amiable, though it certainly WON'T change your life
This is a very pleasant and amiable comedy, though it's not one that provides so many laughs that you'll roll on the floor or push your friends to watch it with you. But this isn't a bad thing, as the movie still is quite watchable and quite approachable to those who are not huge fans of Steve Martin's brand of humor. While not nearly as crazy as his older films (such as THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS or THE JERK),it is thankfully not as conventional, low energy and dull as CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN or some of his other recent films.
This comedy is also different because in addition to Martin, Michael Caine is also in the lead. They both play swindlers--one sophisticated and cool (Caine) and the other a bit vulgar but perhaps equally effective (Martin). At first, they battle each other trying to prove they are the better grifter of the two, but then later they decide to join forces. It is at these moments as a team that the film provides the most laughs--particularly when Steve Martin really hams it up in order to scare away ladies who expect Caine to marry them. In other words, Caine used the women and got money from them and then Martin's awful behaviors as Caine's "brother" was used to get the women to run away in terror. These moments, plus the surprise ending make for a very entertaining if slight film.
By the way, this is a remake of "Bedtime Story" (starring Marlon Brando and David Niven). And, it's a rare carse where the remake is vastly superior to the original.