Gambit

Written by Joel and Ethan Coen, Gambit follows art-curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) as he hatches a scheme to con his abusive boss (Alan Rickman’s Lionel Shabandar) into buying a fake Monet – with the plan forcing Harry to work with an unpredictable Texas rodeo queen (Cameron Diaz’s PJ Puznowski). Filmmaker Michael Hoffman delivers a briskly-paced and lighthearted caper that somehow never quite becomes as entertaining or engaging as one might’ve anticipated, as the movie, which is admittedly very well acted and suffused with a handful of compelling sequences, doesn’t contain much in the way of momentum and ultimately feels a little desperate in its execution (ie Hoffman seems to be trying awfully hard to cultivate an atmosphere of bubbly fun). And although there are some pleasures to be had (Rickman’s scene-stealing performance, for example), Gambit‘s penchant for lurching from scene to scene paves the way for a rickety midsection and decidedly underwhelming third act – with the end result a disappointingly forgettable endeavor that could (and should) have been so much better.

** out of ****