Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
★★★★
Sometimes you revisit a childhood favorite and it crumbles under the weight of nostalgia—but Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? It’s still conning its way into my heart decades later.
I first saw this film as a kid, thanks to my parents, and it’s stuck with me ever since. Directed by the always-underrated Frank Oz, it’s a masterclass in smart, sophisticated comedy—without ever feeling stuffy. It’s also refreshingly clean, which oddly enough, feels harder to pull off. There’s no leaning on raunchy jokes or shock humor; instead, the film rides on the razor-sharp script and the top-tier comedic chemistry of Steve Martin and Michael Caine. (Martin, for the record, remains one of my all-time favorite comedic actors.)
The movie plays like a con itself—sleek, clever and endlessly rewatchable. It’s part screwball, part caper and completely charming. And I won’t dare spoil the ending for the few who haven’t seen it—it’s a doozy, and like all great heist-style comedies, it makes the rewatch just as fun as the first go.
Honestly? Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a rare gem that balances intellectual wit with laugh-out-loud physical comedy. It still holds up just as well today as it did when I was eight—and that’s saying something.
