Gambit

Back in the dim dark days of 1966, Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine starred in a fun little heist romp of a film, Gambit.  In 2012, a new team appropriated the name and the underlying concept of that earlier film and created their own version of Gambit, this time with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in the starring roles.  The film did so badly in the U.K. that the studio never even released it in the U.S.  Instead, they took it straight to DVD.

To my surprise, I only recently learned about this new version.  Given that it also features Alan Rickman and Stanley Tucci, two actors I follow, I am amazed that I had never heard of the movie before--but I had indeed somehow missed it.  Once I discovered it, however, I ordered it, and the other night a group of us watched it.

I loved it from start to finish.  With Colin Firth doing a blend of his usual performance and the sort of comedy Peter Sellers once provided, he was a wonderful lead.  Cameron Diaz kept up well enough to make her character interesting.  Alan Rickman was, as always, delightful, and Stanley Tucci chewed hard on the scenery.  The plot was engaging and constructed well enough that even though you could spot the ending early on, you still had a great time getting to it.

If you can find this movie on Netflix or for sale on DVD, do check it out.  You'll have a delightful hour and a half.