Gambit - Der Masterplan

I'm not sure why it got so many low ratings. It's one of those movies I've passed over many times, despite my love for Colin Firth, because reviews were so low. Finally, Redbox sold out of anything better, I gave it a try and now I'm so glad I did.

If you're looking for Oceans 11 or The Italian Job type intricacies in the plot, it isn't going to happen. However, it's still cute and interesting with enough of a twist to be worth it. Where this show really shines is in the hilarious writing - the insults and comments are really really funny - and in the acting abilities of Colin Firth and Alan Rickman. Both do tremendous jobs. Colin Firth can take impossibly stupid situations, the kind Steve Martin and Ben Stiller do, situations almost painful in how absurd and moronic they are, and yet he makes them hilarious. A guy on a hotel ledge several stories up, no pants, is old old old, but Colin Firth makes it remarkably entertaining, as if this is the first time you've ever seen that scenario in a movie. Alan Rickman plays a SOB like no one else and he's the total jerk you love anyway (think his Sheriff of Nottingham role) because he's just so good at it and his muttered comments and blatant insults keep you busting out in laughs. I got to the point I was jotting down some of the lines in the show, and thinking I may need to go back to the beginning to write down others, because they're absurd, clever, and all-together brilliant.

If you need lots of intricate plot twists and details - maybe not for you. If you enjoy understated yet remarkably hilarious verbal humor, witty comeback, diverting insult and repartee, ridiculous colloquialisms and a few side-splitting guffaws, this is the show for you.

I had no idea what "Gambit" would be about when I watched. It was the stellar cast of Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman that convinced me to try this low-key film release. And I am sure glad I did.

"Gambit" is a funny little comedy about art curator Harry Deane (Firth) hatching a caper to sell a forgery of a Monet painting to his own haughty boss (Rickman). Deane picks an American rodeo champion, PJ Puznowski (Diaz) as accomplice, or does she have other plans up her sleeve?

The very British comedy had been written by the very American Ethan and Joel Coen, with very wry and witty results. Surely, there is no out-of- the-box, off-the-wall "Fargo" or "No Country for Old Men" Coens in this film. This is simple and straightforward comedy. I wonder why they did not direct it themselves.

Colin Firth gets away from his serious period films with this film where his character gets into the most unfortunate and ridiculous of circumstances. Alan Rickman plays a very rich, formal and ruthless CEO here, but we get to see him in a couple of the most embarrassing scenes of all. We will forget Prof. Snape as we watch this.

Cameron Diaz again plays a pretty, perky girl, seemingly lacking brain matter, a character she can play with a blindfold, but nonetheless fun to watch. Distinguished British actor Tom Courtenay plays the very capable art forger Major, who is Deane's partner-in-crime.

Overall, this is one very entertaining film. Those scenes of Colin Firth outside the window of the hotel were pretty funny, among many other scenes. It is fun. It is neat. I enjoyed it a lot.

You know that relaxing movie that you wanna play sometimes, but you're ashamed to, you know what I mean... That mix of comedy, somewhat intelligent humor and a good cast to top it all off, but not too romantic, modern or lame... Well, these are the gambits you are looking for (actually gambit, but then I couldn't make that Star Wars reference showing you that, I too, have watched the trilogy at some point (oh wait, is that another remark about Star Wars, now showing that I don't acknowledge the last three parts(oh snap, we got some Inception stuff right here...))). Anywhoo, Gambit is a cleverly written light comedy with an excellent cast, each character seems to be specifically written for that actor, although this movie could have been starring a completely different cast: Hugh Grant, Sandra Bullock, and Ben Kingsley.

Lionel Shahbandar, a media mogul and a lord has one more title to his name, a horrible boss. Especially to his curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth, long live the king) who looks after his art collection, a simple fellow with good manners and a big heart, but really depressed because of the fact he has to be humiliated on a daily basis by his pompous boss. Harry and his good friend Major, devise a plan to stick it to the man, well in this case, Lord Shahbandar, magnificently played by the almighty Alan Rickman. This complicated and yet simple scheme involves a third person that could not be farther from the business and art world, miss PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz). PJ is a country girl from Texas, that enjoy cattle rustling and plucking chickens, so a plan that will make her rich very quickly sounds very good to her. But, as in all good plans, things don't go quite well as you would expect them to...

Written by the Coen brothers who brought you many legendary movies, Gambit is good for one watching and perhaps a second, when you accidentally catch it on cable. Still, I liked how the romance was shifted out of the focus, and the clumsiness of our dear fellow Harry brought into the spotlight. In the scenes which take place in a hotel, he reminded me very much of a timeless performance by Peter Sellers in the movie The Party (1968). Other than that, I think that this sums up my thoughts about this movie, enjoy...

Movie recommendations Rabbit-Reviews.com - Only movies worth watching

Art heist comedy.

An art curator (Colin Firth) in London devises a way to rob his wealthy art collector boss (Alan Rickman) with the help of a rodeo champion from Texas (Cameron Diaz).

It's a remake of an old Michael Caine film I remember really liking because you see the heist plan smoothly imagined and then you get the somewhat different reality. In this version the imagined plan is brief and sadly does not firm a key component of the movie.

Overall, the film is just okay, mildly amusing with a mediocre plot, but not that memorable. Rickman and Firth are entertaining though.

I watched this film on release night with my fiancée. We had previously seen a couple of trailers for the film and thought it looked funny and interesting, although on the day I was disturbed to see find such a low rating here on IMDb.

*Disclosure, I am not connected to the film's production or any of the cast, and have no agenda here other than offering an alternative point of view.

The basic plot is already known in advance: that Colin Firth wants to con his evil boss using a beautiful Texan as bait. He travels to meet her accompanied by his friend and co-conman, Major Wingate. After watching her in a rodeo they go to a local bar to make the approach. The Major asks Colin how much is he going to tell her? He answers: "Oh, only enough for her to play her part". And the same is true of the audience. You are only told enough to a) identify with Colin's character and his motivation, and b) follow the plot to come.

We're then treated to a brief 'Ocean's 11-style' précis of how Colin imagines the con will play out from start to finish. Needless to say, no plan ever works out exactly as imagined!

The humour is very dry, never in-your-face, and this isn't the kind of film to hand you gags. Laughing our loud isn't the point. Instead there's a mixture of situational comedy, miss-understanding comedy, wordplay, and great interaction between the characters. Some of the best jokes are the ones where you have to smile ruefully when things go wrong on a bad day. I thought at the time that the screen-writing was a lot like Richard Curtis, and could easily imagine Rowan Atkinson as the lead.

Instead the best joke is Colin Firth himself, playing a little man, in Cameron Diaz's words, instead of a larger-than-life character for a change; playing it straight, rarely smiling because he's not very happy (he wants revenge, remember) and not trying to seduce the very comely Cameron Diaz, who also plays a wickedly funny character without being cast as the comic side-kick.

But, from a critics point of view, I guess, there's not much originality. You can perceive homages to other films; old Ealing- comedies like the Ladykillers, where the subject matter isn't funny but there is some great humour. And I'm not referring to the re-make, which I didn't like.

I'd like to watch this film again at a later time and see if I can. It might grow on me and become a minor classic, or it might drop to mediocre. Either way, if you watch it you have to appreciate it for what it is, rather than what it isn't. And it probably helps if you have a temperament where you can see the funny side in unfunny situations.