Hello. My name is Fuji, and I am NOT a Michael Caine fan. I can count on one hand the movies I enjoy his performances in, and one is Jaws: The Revenge, solely because he isn't in it long enough to annoy me. Though my disdain for him is greater than my desire to procure a copy of Gray's Sports Almanac and a time machine, I am still willing to give him his props when I feel they're warranted. I think he's one of the most deserving Oscar winners of all time for his role in Hannah and Her Sisters, and I will go to my grave saying he damn well should have been nominated for his role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Most people, for good reason, consider this movie a showcase for Steve Martin, but in my mind it's Caine's performance that helps keep the movie grounded well past its expiration date. Well, him and the late Glenne Headly, but we'll get to her in a moment. Suffice to say, if it's got Caine and I don't hate it from the moment his smarmy face appears on screen, it's an instant win as far as I'm concerned. Let's take a look at a few key reasons why this movie is a bonafide classic and why it's essentially erased Bedtime Story (Marlon Brando and David Niven) from existence.
Reason #1 - Chemistry. If you thought Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo had chemistry in Dead Heat, you'll be blown away by how Caine and Martin work together. They have an instant charisma connection that's rare in any movie, and Frank "it's an Opera" Oz knows exactly how to direct them, choosing a lot of wider shots to keep them both in frame and encouraging them to play off of one another. This isn't exactly King Lear, or even Shakespeare in the park, but the two manage to convey some serious acting chops even with the less than serious dialogue they're working with.
Reason #2 - Glenne Headly. Gone way too fucking soon, Headly was always a top notch actress, getting her start as an integral part of the famous Steppenwolf Theatre Company, alongside such notables as Gary Sinise, Raul Julia and John Malkovich, who she was married to for several years. While she doesn't appear until the second act, Headly instantly takes control of the film and makes every single scene she's in count. I have long said that the highest compliment a performer can receive is that you could imagine no one else in their role. This holds true for Caine, Martin and Headly here, and really helps drive home why this movie works so well.
Reason #3 - Ruprecht the Monkey Boy. Martin actually plays it fairly casual for the first portion of this movie, but once he's set free, he graces us with some physical comedy that even manages to surpass his own lofty limits. I don't care who you are, if you're not laughing by the end of the dinner scene, you may have some unresolved issues. "May I take your trident, sir" is still a line that lives rent free in my head, and that's no small feat considering I sometimes forget to wear socks.
Reason #4 - The ending. Quite simply put, there were a million and one ways to screw the pooch on the ending to this movie, yet they managed to not only tie up everything into a nice little knot, but also to show us that, sometimes the bad guys (or girls) win. Oh, I'm not saying they're the villains of the picture, but this isn't exactly Gary Cooper riding off into the sunset with Grace Kelly either. My only regret is that we never got a sequel with these three, though perhaps what we do have is more than enough.
It's an 8.5/10 for me, and I would like to take a moment to thank Jake for not only putting this whole thing together, but for calling an audible and giving me a chance to revisit a movie that is just plain fun. As I'm about to embark on several days of art house, depressing, subtitled Oscar bait at TIFF, it was the perfect refresher. On that note, I have to go to the bathroom. Thank you.
