Gambit
Michael Hoffman
The story: The put-upon British art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) has come up with a ploy to take revenge on his bully of a media mogul boss, Lord Lionel Shabandar (Alan Rickman). To pull it off, he needs the help of Texan cowgirl PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz) and the counterfeiting skills of his pal, The Major (Tom Courtenay). A loose remake of the 1966 film of the same name starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine.

Gambit wants to be a light-footed caper but ends up flailing and stumbling.
The script is by Joel and Ethan Coen, though the acclaimed team behind gems such as Fargo (1996) seem to be dialling it in here. Their trademark sharpness of wit and humour is hardly in evidence.
Maybe they knew it was not quite up to snuff because instead of them directing it, Michael Hoffman (The Last Station, 2009) took it on instead.
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, 2010) tries his best in the role of the mousy fumbling Englishman. Too bad the lacklustre script does not give him much to work with.
A scene filled with naughty double entendres as Harry Deane talks about The Major feels tired and might only raise a weak smile or two at the most.
The bigger problem is the big fat zero in chemistry between Firth and Cameron Diaz (What Happens In Vegas, 2008), which means that the bantering and bickering between the two fall flat.
And she lays it on so thick for the role of a smarter-than-she-looks hick that PJ comes across as fake as opposed to spunky and likeable.
At least Alan Rickman (from the Harry Potter fantasy series) has some fun as the imperious boss who does not bother to disguise his contempt for Harry.
The caper flick also flirts with farce. In a mildly amusing sequence, Harry scampers about the classy Savoy Hotel without his pants on.
It could have been pushed even more, though, for bigger laughs.
The ending is not too satisfactory either, hinging as it does on an unlikely security system and even more improbable rodeo roping skills.
This Gambit could have done with more time on the drawing board.
(ST)