Thursday, December 19, 2013

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels [1988] (English): pure unadulterated fun

Lawrence Jamieson is a proud prince of some small far away kingdom. His royal Highness operates out of Beaumont-sur-Mer, a beautiful little place located in what they call as the French Riviera. His major occupation is to get help in the form of hefty donations from the rich ladies who visit the place, in order to help the cause of his enslaved people. All is going well, until one day he stumbles upon one Freddy Benson, an American, who is in the same line of work as himself. Except for the fact that Freddy is trying to get help for his very sick Grandmother.

There is just one problem. Actually a set of problems. Namely, Freddy is fishing in the same waters as Lawrence. He is younger. Less experienced. Not to mention, an utter moron, according to His Highness.If nothing else, he would scare away the fish on which Lawrence relies on for his living. So Lawrence tries to convince, persuade, or scare Freddy in order to leave voluntarily. But to no avail. The young cocky grandson of a very sick grandmother becomes the thorn in the backside of his highness - a thorn which will not dislodge itself so easily.

Something needs to be done. So they both decide to settle matters once and for all, by placing a bet. The first one to get 50000 bucks from a lady wins. The lady in question is ... A Soap Queen of America. The race is on. Who will finally win?

Lawrence Jamieson, played by Michael Caine has been brilliantly portrayed. Michael Caine's acting skills are extraordinary, as is evident in this movie. His straight faced comedy is as refreshingly hilarious as the serious performances he had to give during one or two scenes in the movie. The klutzy but persistent role of Freddy has been played quite nicely by Steve Martin. I felt his acting was a bit awkward and contrived. But it suited well for the character of Freddy. In fact he fit the role so well, he almost defined it. After watching the movie, I can't imagine anyone else playing the same role. Glenne Headly, who played the role of the Soap Queen of America, has also performed well.

The movie captures the beauty of some idyllic European towns along the Mediterranean coastline, during that golden age before such beautiful places became expensive, commercialized, crowded and polluted...

What I liked most about this movie is that it gave me quite a few good laughs. Its pure unadulterated humorous good old-fashioned entertainment. A rare gem of a movie that will not fade with age. Something you can watch and enjoy with your family without having to worry about adult content. I had a really good time watching it. But most importantly, it was so good, that I am sure I will be watching it many more times in the years to come. And I am sure it will still make me laugh and give me a good time every time I watch it!
My rating: 3.5

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