A Steve Martin movie, and 1997 again. What’s going on here?
The first characters we met were Campbell Scott as Ross and Ricky Jay as George. Two epitomes here – George was one of the most annoying and unrealistic characters ever, and Ross was one of the most idiotic and gullible. I know Ricky Jay was really a magician and seems to always play the same character in movies, but it really didn’t work in this one. Regarding Scott’s character Ross, the best actor would have been Jim Nabors doing his Gomer Pyle character. This clown was that bad.
Anywho, a quick synopsis of the plot – Ross had developed a process for the company he works for that would make them tons of money. He presented it to his boss Mr. Klein, played by good ol’ Ben Gazzara. I like this actor, and in this movie, he’s not a real bad guy like his role as Wesley in the great Road House starring Patrick Swayze, but he’s not a good guy either. Ross then met Jimmy Dell, played by Steve Martin. I had hopes this was going to be a comedy, but no such luck. Jimmy planted the idea in Ross that he wouldn’t be properly compensated for his new process, and then asked Ross to take a package back to New York and deliver it to his sister. Incredibly, Ross agreed – come on, man! The early plot was very confusing – combined with the awful dialog, I wondered if whomever wrote it was high as the bejesus. Or perhaps I was! In any event, as the title suggests, the entire movie was about a scam, specifically the Spanish Prisoner scam, whereby a person is conned into giving money to get someone out of prison in a foreign country, resulting in a much larger monetary reward. We also know it now as the Nigerian prince scam.
Back in New York, Ed O’Neill appeared as an FBI agent, helping Ross to untangle the con. Or was he? Are we sure this wasn’t a comedy? Finally, the plot clicked – okay this was better than I thought. Next, Ross was in Central Park to meet Jimmy, with the rendezvous arrange at a… oh no… A FUCKING CAROUSEL! All the fake HORSES looked like they are screaming – it was horrifying! I had to look away until the scene was over. With that unexpected terror concluded, Ross then proceeded to George’s apartment where he found him dead – yay – another annoying character got the axe. As Ross left, he grabbed his jacket from an iron coat hook that was designed as a … HORSE HEAD! Obviously, these guys were just fucking with me now.
So in conclusion, hang in there, this one gelled about an hour in – but before it does, laugh at the bizarre dialog and Ross’ idiotic actions. I’ll give this one six Steve Martin banjos out of ten. Worth a watch, but be forewarned if you’re a hippophobic like me.