Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Con artist Lawrence Jamieson is a longtime resident of a luxurious coastal resort, where he enjoys the lavish fruits of his deceptions -- that is, until a competitor, Freddy Benson, shows up. When the new guy's lowbrow tactics impinge on his own sophisticated work and believing him to be the infamous conman 'The Jackal', Lawrence resolves to get rid of him. Confident of his own duplicitous talents, he challenges Freddy to a winner-takes-all competition: whoever swindles their latest mark, American heiress Janet Colgate, out of $50,000 first can stay, while the other must leave town.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is elevated almost entirely by the chemistry and comic brilliance of Steve Martin and Michael Caine, whose interplay is genuinely exceptional — earning a well-above-average Acting score. The twist ending is a genuine delight, cleverly subverting audience expectations in a way that lands with satisfying force. The plot structure is solid screwball fare but fairly conventional for a con-artist comedy, and as a remake of Bedtime Story (1964) its Novelty is inherently constrained — the core premise is borrowed, even if the execution is sharper. Cinematography is pleasant and makes fine use of the French Riviera backdrop but is never especially distinguished.