Crime Scene Pictures, ArtPhyl, FilmNation Entertainment,
Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Cloris Leachman, Tom Courtenay, Anna Skellern, Senem Temiz, Togo Igawa, Sarah Goldberg
Harry Deane (Colin Firth) is the underappreciated, overworked, and mistreated art curator in London who would love to get back at his boss. He is an expert in art, and knows the best forger in the business. He sets out on a plan to sell a fake Monet to a rich businessman, and hires an assistant, sassy and sexy rodeo queen PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz) to help him pull off the perfect crime. But she is not turning out to be very trustworthy and step by step Harry’s plan goes further and further off the rails in this funny crime drama remake of the 1966 film with Michael Caine and Shirley Maclain.
This is a very “Sting” like film with double cross after triple cross after quadruple cross. The art aspect of the story reminds me a lot of the latest Mr. Bean comedies but Harry as not nearly an inept as Mr. Bean. In fact, Harry’s pretty clever, but the people he chooses to trust seem to let him down time after time. This film is pretty clever, and has a number of twists to keep you guessing how it’s going to end up. It’s clever and witty, and the mix of cultured Brit Harry matching wits with crass Texan PJ is really funny. There are a few other smaller characters in the film too that add a lot to it. It’s fast paced, and has a lot going for it. It’s not boring. However, this movie doesn’t have what it takes to make it big in the mainstream. Perhaps it’s a little too uppity for everyman, or it’s not got tons of exciting and suspenseful chases. It’s much more cerebral. But it’s a good story, and it’s been so long since the original that it’s hard to compare the two. This will not be a must see, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with killing a little time with this film. I did enjoy the pace of the story and the clever script, and I think both Colin and Cameron brought a lot to their parts and played well together. I really did enjoy this movie.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
