It wasn’t until recently that I saw the whole of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - ironically enough I’d seen the last five minutes before – twice, somehow – so the twist ending was no surprise to me. That didn’t matter however, since this is such a gloriously enjoyable film.

It stars Michael Caine and Steve Martin as conmen whose prime target is rich women – and on the French Mediterranean coast, there are loads of them. Lawrence Jamieson (Caine) is a Brittish toff and very much a big league player – he charms the very rich and geographically challenged old ladies into parting with their money by playing the part of the rightful king of fictitious European countries with doubtful names; all funds to go to his little group of patriotic freedom fighters, of course. Freddy Benson (Martin) on the other hand is a brash American whose sights are set much lower – initially, at any rate. When their worlds collide and Jamieson feels that any rivalry, such as that posed by Benson, is undesirable, and considering that Jamieson has the local Police Chief (Inspector Andre, played by Anton Rogers) in his pocket, the rivalry doesn’t look like it will last very long. But, of course, Benson is a more determined character than he looks like, and so something must be done to settle the matter – a contest.

The contest proves to be about conning a “soap queen” (Janet Colgate – sounds more like she should be a toothpaste cream? – played by Glenne Headly) who has just jetted in and looks very, very gullible. As both the conmen know quite well, however, looks can be deceptive…

Michael Caine gives an impeccable performance here and Martin is at his best, in a role that really suits his rather manic acting and comedic style. The two play off each others’ strengths to perfection, and there are lots of very funny moments stemming from Martin, with the more subtle humour usually coming from Caine. However despite the brilliance of Caine and Martin, and the gentle humour evident in Anton Roger’s performance, it is really Glenne Headly that steals the show – she is absolutely superb. She holds her own in the laughter steaks while Martin hams it up and Caine suavely rolls along, acting as a perfect comic foil for both while being funny in her own right.

Backed up by Frank Oz’s superb direction, a great script (courtesy of Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, and Paul Henning), and a suitably jolly musical score by Miles Goodman, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is one of those endlessly entertaining films that will have you laughing at every twist even though you know it’s coming, and noticing new touches that you enjoy on each viewing. If you like to laugh, then this is thoroughly recommended.

Other Information

Year of release: 1988 (1989 in the UK)
Runtime: 110 minutes
Rating: PG (US and UK rating)

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