Gambit

Very loosely based on the Michael Caine film of the same name from 1966, the first thing you’ll notice about this film (apart from Cameron Diaz in her smalls, of course) is that it’s scripted by Joel and Ethan Coen. Dash those hopes though, as I’m afraid this is “bad” Coen brothers (see The Ladykillers for further reference). The storyline concerns art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) and his plan to seek revenge on his eccentric and abusive boss (Alan Rickman) by pulling the wool over his eyes in an art deal. The problem is Deane requires the help of equally eccentric Texan rodeo champion PJ Puznowski (Diaz). How and why you can discover for yourself, but this is as dumb as it sounds. It’s basically larks for larks sake as Deane pratfalls around trying to get his scheme to work. It is played for laughs, but the range is so great (from slapstick to West End farce) there’s no balance and most gags fall as flat as the Coens now boring penchant of giving their characters ridiculous monikers (here Rickman = Lord Lionel Shabandar). At least Deane’s escapades around the Savoy hotel in London do provide a few guffaws and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t chuckle at the innuendo laden miscommunications between Deane and the hotel staff. Even if you don’t find what’s going on amusing, there’s the double whammy of not actually caring what happens. Deane is far too sad sack to elicit the audience’s sympathy and it takes some serious suspending of disbelief that a man of his profession would lead such a life and take such abuse from his boss. Acting wise it’s all as you were. Firth is the repressed Brit, Diaz as the zany Southern Gal and even Stanley Tucci pops up playing someone flamboyant. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. At least Alan Rickman (in his first non-Harry Potter film for years) hams it up in style. Michael Hoffman is the director here, but it’s an odd choice of man and material as his films are usually low paced drama’s, so I’m not sure why he was picked to lense what is, in effect, a caper. This had been in development hell for over a decade and had some serious names attached to it at various points script, director and actor wise. After all that, this is the best they could come up with?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
At least it’s short. Rating: 4/10.