Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The art of psychology (or âmindgamesâ) is one which can result in the most profound of rivalries, one in which it is understood that physical violence is out of the question unless it is used as a last resort, as well as one where the participants match wits with each other in an almost inhuman game of chess, constantly trying to checkmate or one up the other even as the stakes continuously get either raised or lowered, but even more importantly, the two who are working each other over are pretty much always trying to figure out just exactly what it is their opponent is thinking or what their next move will be. Remarkably, very few who have excelled at this have ever at any time taken any kind of formal psychology classes in order to fully understand the workings of the human mind and ego and for all intents use their own life experiences and personal observations of human behavior to make all of their devious intents come together (in many cases just working off the cuff). The most extreme types in this artform are those who work in the field of being professional confidence artists, individuals who literally generate a tidy little income for themselves by tricking, scamming, and playing those who have more money than they know what to do with into placing just a little bit into their own pockets with all the cold cunning of a sociopath with any number of personality disorders. Good movies made depicting these types of characters are actually few and far between, with even ones that are given a top shelf reputation (âThe Griftersâ) really turning out to just be dry, slow moving exercises in spiteful behavior. This entry from 1988 though, may very well be the best, which although written as a comedy, contains enough wicked, scheming, double crossing fun to qualify it as both a comedy classic and a tutorial in the art of the scam. Michael Caine stars as Lawrence Jamieson, a top notch pro artist living in a lovely little villa in a small French Riviera town that has become his own beautiful little oyster. And why wouldnât it be? Heâs got the local Chief Of Police on his personal payroll, he has intel people constantly screening potential victims as they roll in based on their vast wealth and proclivity to losing some of it, and it would seem that half the people in the town occasionally pitch in to help him out with his cons (not surprising since a portion of his earnings are put towards philanthropy that benefits the area). But he does live in fear that a notoriously well known American con artist who goes by the alias âThe Jackalâ (and whose face has never been positively identified) might some day come waltzing into his little sandbox, make him out to be a fellow player, and quickly ruin any and all potential business for him before going off on his merry way. One day, while coming home on the train, Caine realizes that the inevitable might have very well happened, when he observes Freddy Benson (Steve Martin), whom at first glance appears to be your typical American jerk tourist, expertly con a wealthy woman into buying him dinner in the first class dining car. Indeed, for all of his oafish qualities, Martin does appear to possess âthe giftâ (especially with females) and even more galling is when he finds himself alone with Caine and openly admits to enjoying the thrill of the con. Caine becomes even more perplexed, now wondering if Martinâs open brazenness is merely the result of sheer stupidity or if the clever âJackalâ (who should have had no idea that Caine was a fellow pro) by straight up admitting who he is and what he does to a seemingly complete stranger is really just setting him up for the kill. Meanwhile, Caine has been running a scam called the âPrince In Exileâ in which he uses his suave manners and graceful elegance to take rich women into his home and confide in them on how his life is in constant danger and lamenting about how his people need the money to fund the freedom fighters working to reclaim their home country, expertly dissuading the marks when they immediately whip out their checkbooks by saying that he and his people are far too proud to accept any kind of âcharityâ thus making them insist even more before he finally ârelentsâ and accepts their money. Unfortunately, despite trying to have him jailed and then run out of the area, Martin gets wise to the âPrince In Exileâ jobs, threatening to expose him unless they come to some kind of mutual agreement. Caine is wary, but decides to accept Martin as his âstudentâ, treating it as a double edged sword just in case he really is the master whom he has feared all along just so now he can keep a very close eye on him. They embark on joint scams now involving more rich women, only now the âPrinceâ has acquired a severely retarded brother whom he uses to gain even more sympathy from said women (all while degrading Martin beyond measure in some of the filmâs funniest scenes), even as he wonders if EVERYTHING that Martin does is part of a bigger, more elaborate scam or if the guy is really just a goofy, rank amateur who just seems to make everything up as he goes along as well as having incredibly good luck in doing so. It is this very uncertainty that leads Caine to himself play along when they have their inevitable falling out, as he ultimately agrees to a loser leaves town bet where it is stated that when the mutual target is identified, the first one to scam $50,000 out of her wins possession of the territory as their own exclusive turf. That mutual target turns out to be Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly), said to be an âAmerican Soap Queenâ and who now appears to be a bumbling tourist in the area with a strong streak of naivete, the perfect victim for the two con artists to go to work on in order to destroy the other, and indeed the entire second half of the film sees this no holds barred game play out to near perfection, complete with a delightful twist towards the end. Caine (no stranger to cinematic mind games for those who have seen the original Sleuth) gives one of the best and most underrated performances of his entire career here, remarkably keeping up with Martin when it comes to cutting loose but still never losing his understated reserve at any point in time regardless, always knowing to keep his ill earned rewards in moderation in order to prevent outside scrutiny whilst keeping his operations up and running and maintaining a strict code of honor as to who and who is not âdeservingâ of being taken in by his corrupt charms (the film is actually a remake of a very minor 60s comedy with David Niven in the same role, and you can clearly see the homage to Nivenâs quintessential gentleman in Caineâs performance). As for Martin, those who are stated fans of his âwild and crazy guyâ schtick will find a lot to appreciate here in his over the top physical antics, but even more fascinating is watching him play a character who actually IS a lot smarter than he lets on but purposely plays himself off in a dumb, almost childlike manner because that is what works best for his âactâ. And itâs no surprise that director Frank Oz allowed his two stars to have a lot of leeway to do some improvisational work here, since the story makes it quite clear that these types of pros have to do a lot of fast thinking on the fly in order to modify and survive in their way of life. As for Headly (in what was considered to be her breakthrough role here), she makes an able straight man being pulled in two different directions by her suitors all while the level of bullshit between all of them just manages to become thicker and thicker by the minute. But it also becomes funnier and funnier as well, as we can see firsthand just how slick Martin really is despite him always playing dumb in order to get the needed effect and reaction from the people whom he targets, while Caine remains a sly old hand up to the challenge even as he remains dumbfounded that this crass, crude and cocky young American can somehow be such a difficult opponent for his own peerless skills. It all adds up to a comic tour de force disguised as a very intricate battle of wits between two worthy rivals, something that can make you both laugh out loud while still being in shock at both the gall and guile of its two stars (this might possibly be the career cinematic highlight for Martin as well), working the con in a beautiful setting that helps to make it a fine piece of escapism as well as an all time comedy classic for the agesâŚ
9/10