Un plan perfecto

This one was a letdown for me. It feels like a case of wasting the actors' potential. Colin Firth, once again, played a variation of Mr. Darcy, which I don't mean as criticism — I think he nails those dry, uptight characters. I might have enjoyed it more if the film had a stronger screenplay. Alan Rickman, while still exuding his unmistakable charisma, didn't have much to work with. Stanley Tucci's role felt especially poorly written, which was a shame. As for Cameron Diaz, she just doesn't do it for me. The biggest issue, though, was that the story didn't really go anywhere. I found it hard to laugh when the cast delivered lines that felt more at home in comedies like American Pie. / Lesson learned: Do you happen to own original works by famous painters? Give them a wash, just to be safe. (25.06.2022)

The Coen brothers had a good idea. It actually wasn’t such an original idea. Well, those stacks of hay may have been quite original. But their story is actually a lot more interesting than this movie. I couldn’t really get over the way the story was told. The absurd nature of the film reminded me a bit of the movie The Ladykillers. But in this movie, things were taken so far that I really had a problem with it. All the actors portray classical template characters. Cameron Diaz portrays the typical dumb Texas chick. Colin Firth then portrays a cheeky British guy, who thinks he’s had a brilliant idea. And for a change, Alan Rickman portrays a boss who is drowning in cash and who’s really mean to everybody. All in all, there was nothing interesting about this movie, with the possible exception of a bit of a truth about those stacks of hay. You see after the movie, I had to google the rest of the truth immediately. (28.02.2014)

Colin Firth bears the main weight of the film, as he is the one who will make you watch it until the end in this American variation of British humor. He is interesting, funny, and entertaining. Alan Rickman is a bit too much of a classic villain, so you definitely won't be rooting for him. The characters are only sketched superficially, with only Firth having some depth, but he still remains a caricature. However, in the second half, it starts to become fun, which is good. The film needed it. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver the funny scenes, or at least potentially funny scenes, in a way that truly amuses. It's as if the director let the film flow without realizing that they could do something with the pace, that they could help the jokes. I don't know how much control the Coen brothers had over their film, but it probably needed a bit more restraint in each scene. In that case, the film could have become at least above average. This way, it doesn't quite catch on, even though it wants to. (19.11.2013)

I don't mind that a remake of a movie I like was made. It bothers me that a bad remake was made. You can tell that, among other things, by the fact that although it is supposed to be a comedy, you won't find much humor in it. The protagonist played by Colin Firth is an incompetent annoying idiot who actually deserves all the insults from the snobbish Alan Rickman, Cameron Diaz hasn't been given the space to show anything, although she probably would have liked to... Otherwise, nothing. I really didn't expect the Coen brothers to resort to such simple and silly humor like double-talk at a hotel reception. Gambit does have a few lighter moments, but as in the case of Monet's painting, there is only one original. (19.09.2015)