Gambit - Der Masterplan

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.

I really don't think this film deserves the poor reviews it has received! I have never seen the original so am not comparing this, simply judging it as a film in its own right. The cast is brilliant, I love Diaz, Firth, Rickman and Tucci so was never going to be disappointed! Yes it's a ridiculous caper movie, it's not meant to be taken seriously on any level! It's great fun, I was weeping with laughter at some of the hotel scenes, and that doesn't happen often in a movie! I'm not quite sure what some of the reviewers on this site were expecting, but I was thoroughly entertained! I came out with a smile on my face so in my books that's just fine!

I was prepared to like this film as I'd seen the original Gambit. This film however, had a completely different story line. Colin Firth does his best with it and there are a couple of smiley moments, especially when he loses his trousers climbing round a hotel ledge but it is not enough. The film is very short, and when it ends you wonder what possessed the Coen Brothers to make it. Cameron Diaz is extremely irritating and the character goes nowhere. Tom Courtenay was wasted in his role and some of the so called funny situations are too contrived ie when they book into the London hotel. The twists in the tale aren't twists at all, just cop outs. It just seems a pointless film and is not clever or funny enough. Colin Firth is a brilliant actor but sometimes his lightweight film choices are very strange. A disappointment.

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...

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Other reviewers have noted that "Gambit" isn't a film that draws out lots of laughter. Rather, it has witty lines and very clever scenes that are quite funny; with an occasional goofy bit that is just too funny not to laugh at. It's a bit of a combination of sophisticated (witty dialog) and goofy (silly scenes), which makes for a quirky comedy overall.

This isn't a large production film, but it has quite a cast of actors with diverse characters. They all seem to meld together well (or not so, as the script intends). Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz are very good as the leads. But, the supporting cast and bit performances have some of the funniest lines. Alan Rickman is riotously funny. I have to laugh in the scenes where he wears a disapproving expression of "what's Deane doing now." Rickman is one of those actors whose wonderful humor drives home by his frowns and other facial expressions. When a line comes with the look, it's most often over the top hilarious.

This is a wonderful funny film fiasco. I think an opening scene sets the stage for viewers to know they are in for an enjoyable and entertaining film. Colin Firth (Harry Deane) and Tom Courtenay (The Major) are on an errand from England, have landed in the U.S. and drive up to a gas and shop station somewhere in New Mexico rodeo country. They go inside where Joe Berryman is the gas station cashier.

Deane says, "Excuse me. We were given to understand that there was an equestrian tourney in this area." The cashier says, "Well, we got a law attorney. Don't know his religion. Up downtown Alpine. He's a fairy. Moved here from Albuquerque. It'll be five, no six years ago come May. Not that I judge."