Gambit - Movie Review
Rating: 3 out of 5
Remade from a 1966 romp starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine, this con artist action-comedy is enjoyably silly but never much more than that. Part of the problem is a lack of chemistry between stars Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz, and the film focuses on goofy slapstick instead of a coherent plot. So we may chuckle along the way, but it's hard to be interested in anything that happens.
Firth is at the centre as Harry, a London art expert who has a score to settle with his arrogant billionaire boss Lionel (Rickman). So he sets up an elaborate scam involving a fake Monet painted by his talented pal Wingate (Courtenay). But they need the help of a sassy Texan, PJ (Diaz), to make it work, and she doesn't play along as Harry imagines she will. Soon she's flirting shamelessly with Lionel while Harry sneaks around in the background setting up the con and struggling to pay for her extravagant stay in the Savoy. Meanwhile, Lionel is trying to make a deal with a group of hard-bargaining Japanese businessmen.
While the Coen brothers' script bursts with absurd wit, Hoffman directs the film as a mindless farce, missing every chance for black comedy. From the animated Pink Panther-style titles, the tone is light and frothy, the characters are paper thin and the plot's convolutions never seem to amount to anything. Most of the big set-pieces are irrelevant asides, such as a half-hearted scene involving the lion that's featured far too prominently on the movie poster. Or a long sequence in which Firth cavorts around the Savoy without his trousers. It certainly doesn't help that Firth and Diaz never generate even a spark of attraction between them.
That said, the actors somehow manage to emerge with their dignity, with or without trousers. Firth remains likeable all the way through as a guy whose careful planning is doomed from the start. Diaz goes for broke with a wobbly Texan twang and overt sensuality that's never sexy. And Rickman chomps merrily on the scenery as the louche Lionel. Since they're all clearly having a great time, the fun trickles down to us as well with several moments that are laugh-out loud hilarious. So we can just about forgive the cast and crew if the film is also rather awkward and forgettable.
Rich Cline
Facts and Figures
Year: 2012
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 89 mins
In Theaters: Wednesday 21st November 2012
Distributed by: CBS Films
Production compaines: Air-Edel Associates, Michael Lobell Productions, Crime Scene Pictures
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 18%
Fresh: 7 Rotten: 33
IMDB: 5.7 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Michael Hoffman
Producer: Mike Lobell, Rob Paris, Adam Ripp
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Starring: Stanley Tucci as Martin Zaidenweber, Cameron Diaz as PJ Puznowski, Alan Rickman as Lionel Shahbandar, Colin Firth as Harry Deane, Cloris Leachman as Grandma Merle, Tom Courtenay as The Major, Alex MacQueen as Mr. Dunlop, Joe Berryman as Gas Station Cashier, Anna Skellern as Secretary Fiona
Also starring: Julian Rhind-Tutt, Mike Lobell, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen