I have always had a weak spot for confidence movies... Ocean's 11, Now You See Me, etc. For me,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels started it all. With the dapper style of Michael Caine, and the goof-ball physical comedy of Steve Martin, how could you not love it?
When Lawrence Jamieson (Caine) is on his way home by train after a successful round of fleecing gullible married American women in Monte Carlo, he overhears Freddy Benson (Martin) con a woman in the dining car into buying him lunch. When he later learns he plans on continuing his activities in his home town, he tries his best to get rid of him so he doesn't pollute the waters.
But he won't go away.
When he finally has him arrested by his accomplice, the local police chief, and convinces him he has to leave town or face jail time and heavy fines, he finally manages to get him to leave town willingly. Benson is actually on the plane back to the states when he meets someone in the seat next to him that gives it all away.
What follows is a round of blackmail, cooperation, and finally a gentleman's bet over who can con Janet (Headly) out of $50,000. The competition is fierce and hilarious with a surprise twist at the end.
I didn't do my usual counts for this movie, but it might not be the best for knitting, as Martin's physical comedy makes half the humor in this movie, and you're going to want to keep an eye on that. At the affordable price-point of under $7 for the DVD, and under $10 for the Blu-ray, it's worth adding to any comedy collection. I give it a four and a half out of five.
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