“Verify which DVD edition you are buying!” 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 brillia…
Product Description Two competing con men are out to extract $50,000 from a sweet American heiress. Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) is a crass, loud American. Laurence Jameson (Michael Caine) is a suave, urbane European. Their common ground is that they both are confidence men, and they meet in a train compartment as Benson is scamming his way across Europe, taking advantage of women’s generosity. The two are forced into a rivalry, which culminates in a wager to see who can be the first to bilk $50,000 out of American heiress Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly). Their game of one-upmanship is, of course, brought to ridiculous heights as things progress. Written by Paul Henning (the mind behind such TV shows as Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is an uneven but funny mix of Martin’s physical comedy and Caine’s oily charms. Martin’s first role as cohort is to assume the persona of Ruprecht, the “special” younger brother intended to scare off potential brides. As Ruprecht, he comes off as a cross between The Andy Griffith Show’s Ernest T. Bass and Jerry Lewis; hilarious as it is, it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the film. Once the wager is on, though, Martin slips into his overly earnest mode as an American military man suffering from hysterical paralysis, with Caine as a psychologist who takes on his case. All in all, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (a loose remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story with David Niven and Marlon Brando) is a droll, intelligent comedy, short on knee slappers but long on comic situations and characterizations. –Jerry Renshaw |
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In A Word: Hilarious!  I really don’t watch this movie often enough. The few times I’ve seen it over the years provide superior entertainment, but it’s a film I seem to forget about. That shouldn’t be the case: it’s a terrific movie. I’ve never met anyone who did NOT like this film. It seems to appeal to a lot of people, young and old. The three leads – Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenn Headley – were all in top form, on top of their “game,” so to speak. Martin’s facial expressions and physical humor are terrific and Caine played his part magnificently, too. I enjoy Caine much more in here than Martin (and in most films) but Steve seems to have the funniest moments in this movie. At any rate, both are superb as antagonists “Lawrence Jamison” (Caine) and “Freddie Benson” (Martin). The two men have the talent to pull off slapstick as well as subtle comedy. Headley, as “Janet Colgate,” meanwhile, is a joy to watch and to listen to, with that sweet voice of hers. I can’t say more about her without giving away too much but she is not only the objection of attention in the movie, but the key character. These three combine for almost a laugh-a-minute. This also is a good example of how to make a modern-day comedy without all the sleaze and profanity. It’s highly recommended. Great Simply the Best! |
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