Hacim Llih (techiner) If one scans my, wide-screen ONLY, and anally maintained DVD collection, you will find of the vast majority (80%) are dark, ideally SciFi, even noir psych thrillers. The remaining include a few blockbuster Marvel action movies (10%) and some unique documentaries (5%), and the last few are comedies. Comedy movies overall seem too immature for my tastes as a rule. I do not suffer the silly for silly's sake frat comedies well at all.. much less the high school and least of all the "Dumb & Dumber" fare.And yet.. this is one of my all time favorite comedies. Is it quite silly on occasion? Indeed. Is it somehow brilliant above all others? Doubtful. Yet it is so 'brilliantly' absurd in it's timing.. while being quite sexy due it's lovely and charming femme fatale character too.. and ends up being almost shockingly hilarious.Add the locations of the scenes.. and the absolutely brilliant presence of Sir Michael Caine.. mix in just the tolerable amount of Steve Martin's zany factor.. and this film stands up against all comedies throughout the film eras experienced during my 'fitty-five' years far above almost all others seen! #Bravo!

LeonLouisRicci This may be one of the Least Funny Most Overrated Comedies Ever. That doesn't Necessarily mean that it isn't Amusing. it Occasionally is Humorous and on Rare Occasions it is Hilarious. But it is Inconsistent and Dull at Times and the Pacing is Laborious. It Seems to take Great Care with the Costumes and the Sets going for Luscious and Beautiful (in a comedy?). Well OK, but to what End. The Strengths of the Film are the Actors, Steve Martin and Michael Cain. Cain is Fine but Martin is for Some Reason, Painfully Restrained.Director Oz is Attempting Class and does Succeed with that (in a comedy?) and it is a Throwback to what used to be Called a Sophisticated Comedy. It Works Somewhat but the Film seems Out of Time, maybe even Dated. But Folks and Critics Love this Movie and it does have a Charming Innocence that was Rare at the Time and Now is Nonexistent.Inoffensive Bit of Fluff that Never Alienates or Distances the Viewer with Outrageousness or an Over the Top Reach. No it just sort of Lies There and Casually Asks You to Like it and many took the Bait. Steve Martin Fans may give the Comedian Kudos for Underplaying and Still Managing to be Steve Martin Funny. He and the Movie are Somewhat Successful, but Overall it isn't much, but has a Certain Easy Appeal.

SimonJack I can just image the fun that Michael Caine and Steve Martin had making this movie. How many scenes must they have had to shoot over because the crew and staff cracked up with laughter? This is a genuine masterpiece of comedy. Martin and Caine score a major home run with the bases loaded for this wonderful farce. The supporting cast fit the situation to a "T." This is far better than the original 1964 film that starred Marlon Brando and David Niven. The two writers of "Bedtime Story" are credited also for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning were joined by Dale Launer for this much better screenplay.A couple reviews thought Martin's character, Freddie, is dumb. Come on! He's incredibly naïve, as Caine's Lawrence Jamiesson notes early on. But, he's quick to catch on and Lawrence warns Inspector Andre (played by Anton Rodgers) that Freddie is a clever conman. Andre notes that the amateur Freddie goes after small change. But, Lawrence quips back, "You can't be too careful, Andre. After all, a poacher who shoots at rabbits may scare big game away."Both conmen have their share of cunning – in setting up or preparing for scams. But then, as they encounter a roadblock, each just as quickly cooks up a scheme to give him the upper hand once again. These scenes are hilarious in themselves – when the camera pans on the face of the respective scoundrel and we see his expression as the scheme clicks in his mind. And then, the carrying out of the scheme brings more laughter. Freddie most often gets the short end of the stick, to everyone's delight because of the howling funny situations that ensue. These two fine actors are a natural match for comedy. It would be nice to see another great script that could bring them together again. The two characters are almost opposites, and thus the perfect match for much laughter. Here's an example toward the end of the film. Freddie throws a fit and says: "Of all the lousy… She is disgusting! She is lying, deceitful, two-faced! She is conniving and she is dishonest!" Lawrence, chuckling, says, "Yes. Isn't she wonderful?"I also liked the locations for much of the shooting – the French Riviera, around Villefranche and Nice, France. I vacationed there in the summers of 1963 and 1964 while on leave from serving in the Army in Germany. Of course, I didn't stay at the Grand Hotel du Caps-Ferrat or a luxury villa. That area along the Cote d'Azur has one of the most scenic shorelines in the world.One thing in the movie was so obviously wrong, yet everyone seemed to go along with it, so I wonder if it wasn't intentional. Could the writers and director have been spoofing the audience? This refers to the scenes of Steve Martin in a military uniform. The trivia section has an item about this – that he passes himself off as a naval officer, yet he's wearing a U.S. Army dress blues uniform that clearly shows the rank of corporal. This couldn't be a simple oversight, because several characters refer to him as "officer Benson." Jamieson, as a British Naval volunteer reservist surely would know the insignia of ranks on American uniforms, as well as branches of service. I think this may have been intentional and a spoof of the idle rich on the playgrounds of Europe. The point being that if they noticed Freddy at all, they wouldn't know one branch of service or one rank from another. And, one would think that Freddy was smart enough in running his scams, that he would know what uniform he was wearing and what rank it showed. Ergo, my hunch that this was intentional and meant to spoof the audience and the communities of the idle rich who could so easily be taken in by conmen and women. "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a must for any comedy film collection. It's one of the funniest movies ever made.

morrison-dylan-fan With having recently found out that a friends favourite film genre is Comedy,I decided to try and find a title,that she could hopefully watch with her family over the Christmas period.Struggleing to find any comedies which contained the comedic style that I was searching for,I suddenly remembered,seeing a recent review by a fellow IMDb'er for a title that sounded like the exact type of movie that I was looking for.Taking a look at the IMDber's reviews page,I was delighted to find that the film sounded as dirty,rotten and scandalous as I was hoping it to be.The plot:Heading home on a plane to Beaumont-sur-Mer after stealing a necklace from an heiress.by convincing her that he needed cash to save a village from Communism,con artist Lawrence Jamieson's relaxing flight is interrupted,when he notices a man conning a woman out of a meal.Moving down the plane,Jamieson's hopes of an easy flight,are left in tatters when the dining con artiest takes a seat next to him.Introducing himself as Freedy Benson,Benson tells Lawrence that he is travelling to Beaumont-sur-Mer,due to hearing that there are a high number of wealthy individual's living in the area,who he hopes will be very easy to con.Desperate to be the only con artist in the city,Jamieson contacts his close friend,and Beaumont's police chief officer Andre,who arranges for Freedy to miss his drop-off point.Delighted over having the necklace in his hands and also having out witted a wannabe con artiest,Lawrence's celebrations are cut short,when Benson knocks on Jamieson's door,and gives him the good news that he has ran into someone who has been conned by Jamieson.Reliseing that he is stuck in a corner,Lawrence caves in to Freedy's demands,and begins training him,so that Benson can become the most sophisticated con- artiest.Being desperate to show that he is now the ultimate con artiest,Benson gets Jamieson to agree to a daring challenge,where one of them must con an heiress out of $50,000,in order that either Freedy or Lawrence can be declared the king of Beaumont-sur-Mer.View on the film:Featuring in almost every scene together,Steve Martin and Michael Cain give superb performances that compliment their contrasting comedic styles.Shown to be living the high life,Caine gives Jamieson a strong dose of dry wit,whose texture deepens as he finds himself at risk of being out manoeuvred by a fellow con.Perfectly complimenting Caine's sharp performance,Steve Martin gives a wonderfully brash performance,which despite occasionally going into an outrageous direction, (with one of the movies highlights being Martin pretending that he is a war vet) is kept balanced by Martin showing Benson's wild & wicked con tricks to be the flip side of Jamieson's silky smooth cons.Joining the boys,Glenne Headly gives a great performance as the "air head" heiress who Benson and Jamieson are battling over,with Headly showing Janet Colgate to be far more quick witted than either of the guys can ever guess.Along with Headly,the film also features a terrific performance from Anton Rodgers, (known in the UK for his lead role in the sitcom May To December,and for also narrating the children's TV show Old Bear Stories)less than by the book cop Andre.Breaking away from the "90 minute" rule of Comedy movies for their adaptation of the 1964 movie Bedtime Story,the screenplay by Paul Henning and Stanley Shapiro keeps the film's plot moving at an extremely swift pace,with Henning and Shapiro showing Benson and Lawrence to use increasingly desperate measures,as the con reaches the finish line.For the excellent comedy in the movie,the writers smartly decide to keep it rooted in Freedy and Jamieson's "game" ,which along with letting the comedic elements to gradually take a delightfully crazy direction,also allows Henning and Shapiro to show how dirty,rotten and scandalous Benson and Jamieson really are.