Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Movie Review

Steve Martin stars in one of his funniest roles in the late 1980's hit comedy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Working with seasoned veteran Michael Caine, the two surprisingly combine to create a hilarious onscreen comedy duo. The two actors play con men, both canvassing the same small territory, and there isn't room for both of them.

In beautiful Beaumont sur Mer on the French Mediterranean coast, Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) and Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) meet. Both are con men who prey on wealthy women - Freddy using his hard luck stories, and Lawrence utilizing his Old World sophistication and charm. But Lawrence is in a far different league, preying on the wealthy elite of Europe with his years of criminal training. Aspiring to reach such heights himself, Freddy convinces Lawrence to take him on as an understudy. Lawrence relishes the challenge, and together, the two are able to take the town by storm.

But when the boundaries of the small seaside resort become too small for both men, they make a bet as to who is the best at his craft - with the loser agreeing to leave town. Their target is a newly arrived American soap opera star named Janet Colgate. The bet is whoever can get $50,000 from her or go to bed with her first. With the two masters of their craft working against each other, the young American girl is pulled in every direction at once. At least until the two men find out who the true winner of their bet is.

Clever and humorous, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a classic in the comedy genre. It has several memorable scenes, a number of which are saved until the very end (which has a surprising conclusion). Among them is when Lawrence, playing the role of an imminent psychologist, dances with Janet in a bar while Freddy pathetically looks on from his wheelchair. With Lawrence hurling a series of insults such as "get up out of that chair and dance with this girl," Freddy tells a group of sailors a sob story about how Janet used to be his girl until she was stolen away by a man who could walk. The sailors kidnap Lawrence with every intention of teaching him a lesson, but Lawrence quickly turns the tables on Freddy.

I highly recommend Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as a great night of entertainment to people of all persuasions. Far from the realm of a slapstick comedy like The Naked Gun, or the borderline ridiculous humor of Airplane, it exhibits a presence of sophistication reminiscent of its subject matter - two con men working the elite and wealthy social circles of Europe. Like Frasier, it displays all the nuance preferred by educated viewers without being snobbish. But most of all, it's downright plain funny! That's why it's a must-see comedy film.

Britt Gillette is author of a DVD review blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Related Information of Interest:

Movies: What Would Life Be Like Without Them?
Have you ever thought about how your life would be if there were no movies? You probably haven't and that is because we all take them for granted but lets think about movies, both the good and the bad a little, shall we?

Movies are one of the most common forms of entertainment there is in our world. This is because they allow us to escape our world and enter into another world for a couple of hours and gives our immediate concerns a rest. They allow us to travel to worlds we will never be able to experience otherwise. They bring excitement and intensity of emotion that we would not have otherwise. These are all pretty good things right? And probably some of the main reasons that they are so popular.

On the flip side movies create unrealistic expectations and make unhealthy lifestyles and choices look appealing. This is especially true for those of us who have grown up in this age of technology. You see back when movies were simpler it was easier to separate them from reality. Now however the special effects and computer animations create such realism that it is confusing our kids. You've heard stories in the news about a child being killed or seriously hurt by another child because they were acting out something they saw in a movie. The other thing is that our children are being exposed to hyper intense scenes of violence that it is surprising that more Columbine's haven't happened really.

And what about Hollywood's portrayal of sex? Well lets just say that we all were really surprised the first time that we had sex. It wasn't nearly as smooth and well coordinated as we had seen every time on the silver screen was it. What if sex was portrayed realistically as something that can be extremely good and fulfilling given that the two people are committed to each other for life and are willing to work at it? What if the fact that there is a lot of responsibility that goes with the pleasure what dealt with? Well lots of people believe that we would have far less trouble with sex at its root. Teenage sex wouldn't be as rampant. Unwanted pregnancies would be a far smaller issue. STDs would not be spinning out of control, and on and on.

So are movies good or bad? Well the answer is both. Now the question remains, does one outweigh the other?

When not writing about movies, author Boyd Troublerr is most definitely watching them. To learn more about this wonderful form of entertainment go to www.moviesdeal.info.

Meet Bryan Singer: Superman Returns
It must have been fate that Bryan Singer would direct the new film Superman Returns, the fifth in the series of Superman films. Singer loved the George Reeves Superman TV series when he was young, and was a huge fan of the Dick Donner-directed films from the 70s and 80s that starred Christopher Reeves as the Man of Steel. “I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that he's the ultimate immigrant. He has all these extraordinary powers, and he has a righteousness about him,“ said Bryan.

After attending the School Of Visual Arts in New York City (but not graduating), he graduated from the USC cinema school (where, incidentally, he met John Ottman who wrote the score for Superman Returns), Singer’s first commercial success was as the producer/director of The Usual Suspects in 1995.That film saw him work with Kevin Spacey for the first time, and Singer and Spacey are re-united, again in Superman Returns, as Spacey plays arch villain Lex Luther, just out of prison and again set to rule the world.

However, it is as an adapter of comic books, bringing superheroes to life, that Singer has carved a niche for himself in the movie world.

In 2000, as writer and director, he introduced Wolverine, Magneto and the rest of the X-Men to the movie world in a hugely successful adaptation, before reprising the characters in the follow-up, X2. Singer left the X-Men franchise to develop Superman Returns and did not work on the 3rd film The Last Stand.

Now an established player in Hollywood with a number of big projects lined up for the future, who would bet against his favourite being the recently-announced sequel for Superman Returns in 2009?

Filmography

Superman Returns (2006) (producer/director/writer)
X2 (2003) (executive producer/director/writer)
X-Men (2000) (director/writer)
Apt Pupil (1998) (producer/director)
Burn (1998) (executive producer)
The Usual Suspects (1995) (producer/director)
Public Access (1993) (executive producer/director/writer)
Lion's Den (1988) (director)

Niall is a huge fan of the original Superman film, and is looking forward to the release of Superman Returns. For news and information about the new film visit his site at www.SupermanReturnsNews.com. All rights reserved. Copyright www.SupermanReturnsNews.com.

Paying Referral Fees to Designers as a Creative Subcontractor - Should You Do It?
Kirstin,

I am a faux finisher and I do some murals, too. When my clients ask me for referrals for designers, I give them names of people whom I think can help them. Should I let the designer know that I referred them?

- Arlene, Baltimore, MD

Arlene,

Not only should you let the designer know you referred someone to her, you should also ask for a referral fee or a percentage of the contract if she gets the client.

In the creative industry it is somehow "standard" for designers to get a percentage of contracts for murals, faux finishes, and other artistic work, but somehow it is not standard for the reverse. He who has the client's trust is the one who holds all the power. Should you be the one who the client trusts enough to ask for a referral, you should be rewarded for giving that referral.

If someone refuses to pay a referral fee or percentage for work you handed to them, then work with other designers or vendors. There are plenty of people out there who understand the value of a "hot referral" and are thrilled to reward people for them.
We all know how difficult and costly it is to get a new client and how much time and effort is spent on marketing and selling. If someone hands you a "hot referral" that leads you right to new business, you should reward that person with a check. Don't see it as a loss of income, see it as a gain in new business. Without the referral, you wouldn't have had the business. Most successful businesses - in every industry at every level - make a portion of their revenue from money paid to them for referrals, and you should, too.

-Kirstin

Kirstin Carey is the author of "Starving Artist No More: Hearty Business Strategies for Creative Folks". Kirstin knows that most creative professionals hate sales, contracts and discussing money. She consults creative folks on the business side of creativity so they make more money, attract better clients, and love what they do. Get proven strategies and insider secrets to help creative types like you get the business help you need at www.MyCreativeBiz.com

How You Meet Adwords, Google AdSense’s Fraternal Twin?
They are the fine men and women who are willing to part with some coin of the realm every time a visitor to your web site chooses to click on an AdSense ad. Google grabs the cash from the AdWords' member’s account, keeps some of it for themselves, and gives the rest to you. How much they keep and how much give away is a State secret, but who cares; just as long as we’re getting ours each month.

How AdWords Works

AdWords provides pay-per-click advertising to merchants who are willing to shell out anywhere from a minimum 05 .05 per click all the way up to a maximum of $100 per click. Can you imagine anyone paying $100 just to have someone click on an ad?

Anyway, the advertiser joins the AdWords program and gets a control panel similar to the one that we AdSense users get. They can write their ads, pick their keywords, and establish an advertising budget. They get tools to track performance as well as to help them pick keywords. There are no monthly minimum spends required and they can turn their ads on and off at will.

Once an advertiser is happy with their ad, it gets released to the network and shows up on web sites like yours and mine. That’s if the keywords on your site match the keyword requirements of the brand spanking new ad, of course.

They can’t “buy” their way to the top

Google doesn’t simply push the people with the highest paying ads to the top of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). They use a rather fair methodology that takes into consideration not only the maximum CPC (cost per click), but also includes a secret recipe for determining an ad’s placement based upon the number of clicks the ad receives. So, at least in theory, an ad paying .05 per click could rise above one paying $5.00 per click if it’s more popular with Google’s audience.

I say “in theory” because if the owner of the $5 ad is paying attention then he or she will see that they are being bested by a lowly nickel ad and do some serious rewriting to get back up to the top where they belong.

Personally, I’m not sure that I have the guts to invest a lot of money into hoping that people who click on my ad will actually buy something, since I still have to pay Google whether I make a sale or not. But, as a dedicated AdSense user, I’m sure glad that my AdWords brothers and sisters have more nerve than I do. And you should be thankful as well.

About the Author:-Please browse for more information at our websites. www.youradsenseprofits.com www.reprintarticlesite.com