Dirty Rotten ScoundrelsDirty Rotten Scoundrels
One’s got a sophisticated, suave and debonair con act. The other’s got…well, an act. Together, Steve Martin and Michael Caine are Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and they’re absolutely ruining the Riviera in this “hilarious battle of wits and double-crosses” (Boxoffice) that “couldn’t be more delightful” (The Wall Street Journal)! Martin is Freddy Benson, a smalltime conman sleazing his way through Europe on whatever handouts he can scam. Caine is Lawrence Jamieson, an impeccably dressed and high-m
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(out of 105 reviews)
Review by Christian Hunter for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
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I can’t believe this movie is a decade and a half old! Neither will you when you view it again (or for the first time). The cinematography is fresh and the comedy is timeless.The story revolves around a simple American con-man (brilliantly played by Steve Martin) who specializes in charming wealthy women out of whatever charity he can manage to swindel. That is, until he stumbles on to the master (Michael Caine), a suave ultra-swank European who doesn’t go for the fast buck, but rather for the slow millions.The difference in their styles, as Martin invades Caine’s comfortable European playground (and then ultimately decide to work together) make for extreme comedy. However, not the Jim Carrey slapstick that’s been so popular lately, rather, this is infinitely more subtle in it’s buildup, but “net net” as funny as most of the best contemporary comedy out there.If you have yet to see this film, count yourself lucky. Buy this DVD and give yourself 15 minutes to get into it. You won’t be disappointed. For those of you who have seen it and are thinking about buying. Do it. It’s one of the few DVD’s in my collection I frequently watch and enjoy.Hope this was helpful to you.Christian Hunter
Review by E. Knowles for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
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DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS is a great comedy. Martin & Caine have terrific on-screen chemistry and their performances in this film can still reduce me to a squalking, teary-eyed viewer. Terrific pacing keeps this movie buoyant at all times, even as the movie approaches its 20th anniversary.There are two DVD editions. The first was from Orion/Image. It was a “no-frills” release, containing the movie only. Mercifully, that version is out of print although I have seen some unscrupulous sellers hyping that fact as a selling point. Don’t be fooled.Get the current edition on MGM DVD. Watch out for similar cover artwork. The current MGM offering has Martin & Caine standing in front of palm trees. (The no-frills disc has them standing in front of a bunch of beach umbrellas.)With the current edition, you will enjoy an anamorphic widescreen transfer (better image quality than standard letterboxing). They are also including the original teaser trailer which brilliantly set up one’s expectations without revealing ANY of the actual movie. Frank Oz (director) provides an interesting scene-by-scene audio commentary.Enjoy!
Review by Laura De Giorgio for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
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The script is flawless and the roles played exquisitely by Michael Caine, Steve Martin and Glenne Headly.
Fred Benson (Steve Martin) has developed some expertise in swindling the small game – getting women basically to pay him a dinner. He is loud, uncultured and proud of his achievement. He has even managed to get publicity for his misdeeds in newspapers.
He realizes that he has much to learn when he steps on the territory, French Riviera, of Laurence Jamieson (Michael Caine), suave, cultured, classy European, who is elegantly getting the better of the big game.
In order to prevent Fred from scarying away his prey, Laurence devises a bet, a match of wits, between the two of them. The one who wins it gets to stay, the one who loses must leave. The bet consists of extracting $50,000 from unsuspecting victim – which they both choose and agree upon.
Now the priceless and hillarious match of wits begins, each one trying to outdo another and each one alternatively getting one step ahead, until the hunters realize that they have been hunted themselves all along by someone with even greater wits.
Review by Shashank Tripathi for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
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“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” has panache, slapstick, clever con hijinks, some gorgeous scenery of the beautiful French oceanside, a wacky Steve Martin peeing in his pants at the dinner table, and a debonair Michael Caine changing his impersonations as often as his hat. Plus, a great ending. MGM has done a fairly surprising job with the feature-rich DVD. Apart from a couple of standard theatrical trailers, it has a complete altenative track from Frank Oz (director) which is quite funny overall. Next up is a six and a half minute “behind the scenes” featurette including interviews with director Frank Oz, Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, and the writer. In short, MGM has done a pretty decent job with this DVD. Recommended purchase.
Review by for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
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Michael Caine and Steve Martin have always been great performers, but in this film, they are at their best. Caine is incredibly smooth and sauve and it plays well off of Martin’s crude behavior as a boorish American con artist. The plot of a scam involving the two men against each other to see who will leave the country is quite possibly the only thing that truly gets in the way of these two great stars, but they overcome any holes and move very well with their dialog and comedy. A stand-out moment involves Martin as Ruprecht, a challenged younger brother to Caine, and a cork on a fork. This sequence is quite possibly one of the funniest scenes filmed in the 1980′s besides the entire Ghostbuster film. The jokes are great and the physical comedy of Martin steals the show at times, but Caine swiftly holds his own with his charismatic performance. It is very clear why Caine is still a star and why Steve Martin is still possibly the funniest man working. These two men are at their prime in this delightful film that has quite a lot of plot twists and unexpected revelations. If you like clashing personalities with your comedy, this is a great film to watch.