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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels streaming

1988 Movie United States Comedy, Crime 110 min FSK 12
By: Frank Oz With: Glenne Headly, Dana Ivey, Steve Martin, Ian McDiarmid, Barbara Harris

Wealthy native Brit Lawrence Jamieson, living in Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, earns most of his money through big cons on wealthy unsuspecting women. With the help of his associates, corrupt Police Inspector Andre, who provides him most of his intel, and his butler Arthur, he pulls scams such as pretending to be a foreign deposed Prince who needs money to finance a secret war to liberate his people. Beaumont-sur-Mer, and thus his world, is invaded by brash American Freddy Benson, another con man whose targets are also wealthy unsuspecting women. Lawrence believes Freddy is the Jackal, a con man whose true identity is unknown, but who is known to be working his way through Europe. While Lawrence works on thousands of dollars per scam, Freddy works only on tens or if he is lucky hundreds of dollars. Lawrence's efforts to get Freddy out of his territory are unsuccessful, so when Freddy figures out that Lawrence is a con man like he is, he decides to blackmail Lawrence to work under him to learn the art of the sophisticated and thus earn more lucrative con. Eventually, Lawrence and Freddy have a difference in how to operate their joint cons, so they issue each other an ultimatum: the person who is able to con a mark out of fifty thousand dollars first will get the French Riviera as their territory, with the other having to leave forever. Who they choose is naive and slightly bumbling American "soap Queen" Janet Colgate, who has just arrived in the area. The nature of how each tries to get the fifty thousand dollars from Janet changes over time, each needing to play off the other's con. But their focus may change with more information learned about the situation, as well as some external factors they did not anticipate.

Filmium rating
74%

Mood

Clever
Comedic
Entertaining
Humorous
Lighthearted

Cast & Crew

Frank Oz
Paul Henning
Stanley Shapiro
Dale Launer
Michael Caine
Steve Martin
Glenne Headly
Ian McDiarmid
Anton Rodgers
Barbara Harris
Dana Ivey

Adaptation

Remake

Budget

Mid-Budget

Cinematic Technique

Character Interactions
Clever Editing
Visual Comedy

Narrative Structure

Character-Driven
Linear
Twist-Filled

Pace

Brisk
Dynamic
Fast-Paced

Runtime

Around 1.5 Hours

Soundtrack

Comedic Score

Style

Comedic
Narrative-Driven
Stylized

Time-Period

1980S

Central Conflict

Bet To Con $50,000
Competition
Deception
Deception To Win Love
Rivalry
With Rivalry

Characters

Con Men
Heiress
Manservant
Police Official

Ending

Deception Revealed
Freddy And Lawrence Reconcile
Janet’S Love Confession

Historical Context

1980S Setting

Key Plot Points

Bet Between Con Men
Freddy'S Deception
Lawrence'S Defeat And Victory
Seduction Of Janet

Plot

Bet To Swindle $50,000
Con Artist Competition
Con Artists Rivalry
Deception
French Riviera Setting
Heiress Swindle

Setting

Beaumont-By-The-Sea
French Riviera
Luxurious
Picturesque

Shooting Location

Antibes
Cannes
Villefranche-Sur-Mer

Theme

Deception
Greed
Rivalry
Romance
Romantic Entanglement

Genre

Comedy
Crime
Romantic Comedy

Audiences

Adults
Comedy Fans
Comedy Lovers
General Audience

Titles

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Box Office Success

$42 Million Us Gross

Critical Reception

Favorable Reviews
Praise For Chemistry

Festivals

La Museum Premiere

Popularity

Popular Comedy

Ratings

Metacritic 68
Rotten Tomatoes 89%

Reception

89% Rotten Tomatoes
Box Office Success
Critical Acclaim
Favorable Critic Scores
Positive Reviews

Production Countries

United States

Release Year

1988
mowizz ID: dc9e0628-30fc-4175-a95a-1dddc5650a0f
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