Le plus escroc des deux

I cannot believe that the first time I saw this - one of my favorite comedies - I was not enamored of it. Subsequent viewings have given it an honored place on my roster of great comedies. What fun Caine and Martin must have working with each other on this one; their enthusiasm certainly shows in the results. Best line: "One must know one's limitations, Freddy. You are a moron." Definitely a must-see for comedy aficionados.

This was such a funny and most clever of comedies. Each scene is is like a jigsaw puzzle and made up of pieces of supreme comedy. Michael Cain and Steve Martin play rivals in a game to be the winning (ultimate) conman, where the loser has to pack-up and leave town. After all of these years it's incredibly fresh and even if you know the inventive ending twist, this movie can be revisited many a time.

It brings tears to my eyes seeing the resolve of "Freddie" (Steve Martin), the jilted-paralyzed vet, getting whacked on the run by Con Man-buddy "Dr. Schuffhausen" (Michael Caine). You can hear the swooshing of the silky satin suit as the Dr. backs up, antelopes towards Freddie, and positively cracks his shins with the sting of a whip-like stem. The look on Steve Martin's face as he fights the tears to preserve his character is priceless!

How on earth did this movie get a 6.7 on the ratings scale? Read the comments, this is one of the funniest and most intelligent comedies ever, remake or not. When you can watch a film 20, 30 times and still find it funny 15 years after it was first released how is that not a classic?

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a wonderful '80s comedy, the type we don't see any longer. Today the humor, for the most part, is vulgar. For some reason, in the '80s, comedies were actually funny.

Michael Caine and Steve Martin are two con man who wind up competing on the Riviera. Caine is a classy con man, Lawrence Jamieson, targeting rich widows as he sports different accents claiming he's funding a revolution for his country, helping the poor, the hungry, etc. Martin is Freddy Benson, lower class but after the same targets.

Freddy asks Lawrence to tutor him in the art of the high-class con. Freddy doesn't want him around as he feels the Riviera isn't big enough for both of them.

Freddy, however, isn't leaving. So they agree on a bet. The first one to strip a young heiress (Glenne Headly) of $50,000 stays, and the other leaves.

What follows is hilarious. Both men are at the top of their game here. Steve Martin can make you laugh with a facial expression. The scene where he attempts to "walk" after being in a wheelchair is a riot.

Caine as Lawrence is brilliant as a suave sophisticate, and his getting the better of Freddy in several scenes is a delight. The end has a neat twist.

This film was adapted into a successful Broadway musical, and it is opening in London starring Robert Lindsay ("My Family"). It's a fun story. Wish today we had more like this.