Gambit released in
the UK towards the end of 2012.
Apparently the makers didn’t think it worthwhile to release it in the US
at all. It released in India tomorrow
(27th September 2013) nearly 1 year after its UK release. The US date is not yet fixed. Now why would they keep an entertaining movie
like Gambit away from the screens when they are fine with unleashing a whole
load of other crap on us? Beats me.
Gambit is a
remake of a Michael Caine – Shirley MacLaine starrer of the same name from
nearly 50 years back (1966). It is not
an identical remake but more of an adaptation.
And guess who has written the screenplay for this adaptation? The
extremely versatile pair of brothers who go by the first names of Ethan and
Joel (The Coen brothers for the ill informed).
And true to the
Coen brothers, the story is quirky and with a surprise or two in between. However, very unlike the Coen brothers, there
are certain aspects that seem too far-fetched.
Aspects intended to be comical but turn out to be borderline slapstick
such as when Harry (Colin Firth) loses his trousers in an attempt to steal an
authentic Ming Vase from the Savoy where Philomena J Puznowski (Cameron Diaz) is
spending the night.
Harry is an art
expert and works for a cad of a boss called Lord Shahbandar (Alan
Rickman). Now Harry is extremely peeved
with the way the Lord treats him. The words “utter disdain” come to mind
first. Harry sets up a plan with an
impressionist imitator who goes by the name of The Major (Tom Courtenay). He gets The Major to create a fake Monet – Haystacks
Dusk.
He then enlists
the services of Puznowski to play the role of a Texan rodeo champion,
blissfully unaware of the fact that it is a Monet. With PJ, they plan to con Shahbandar of £12
Million Sterling. Why? Because Shahbandar
has paid £11 Million for Haystacks Dawn – another painting that Monet made
through a single day. The all too simple
plan gets into several complications – some funny – that form the premise of
Gambit.
One reason that
Gambit released only in the UK could have been the all too British humour
throughout. The dialogues are laced with
sarcasm and you will never be short of words that are typical of British
vocabulary. For e.g. ersatz. (for definition refer http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ersatz?s=t). I love Brit humour and enjoyed every bit of
the one liners.
However, at the
end of the day, Gambit is just a simple enjoyable flick and nothing that will
make you go WOW!!!. It has clean humour.
It has some solid performances from the likes of Colin Firth and Alan
Rickman. To me, the character of The
Major was the best overall. If you are
in the mood for some light British humour over the weekend, head out to the
theatres. You will enjoy it. 6.5 on 10. Good fun.
Watch the trailer
on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1614521369/?ref_=tt_ov_vi
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