Josephine (Anne Hathaway) is a classy con artist, living on an enormous property in Beaumont Sur Mer, making the most of her incredible ability to suck any amount of money out of any man.
One night on a train, she comes across small-time con artist Penny (Rebel Wilson), who is on her way to the same town, hoping to make a quick buck.
The two bump heads, and Josephine tries over and over to get Penny run out of town, fearing she will chase away all the rich men she has come to take for granted for so long.
But when a young man (Alex Sharp), famous for developing the latest greatest smartphone app, and rumoured to be worth billions, comes to town, the two women make a wager: the first to get five hundred thousand dollars out of him gets to stay in town, the other leaves forever.
I won't go into any more detail on the plot, not because I'm afraid of spoiling it, but simply because it isn't just the plot I want to talk about in this review.
I have no fear of spoiling it, anyway, as the plot is identical to that of the 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with the only real change being the genders of the three main characters. Seriously, this film is otherwise indistinguishable from its predecessor: even the surprise twist that was so incredibly shocking all those years ago, and which no-one saw coming in the original, is literally exactly the same, which kind of spoiled the entire film for me; there was no sense of suspense or anticipation.
On the other hand, this script - by Stanley Shapiro & Paul Henning and Dale Launer and Jac Schaeffer - is clever in its own way. By its very nature, in the flipping of the genders of its three main characters, there are a lot of nuanced differences between this film and the film it is based on. Sure, the main points of the story are the same, but the opportunities for humour - and there are plenty - are ever so slightly different.
One of the most wonderful features of this film has got to be Emma Fryer's beautiful costume designs. Again, by having the two lead roles played by women gives the opportunity for some absolutely gorgeous costumes, and Fryer has not held anything back here.
The comedic abilities of both Hathaway and Wilson are definitely the standout part of this film. The two of them work wonderfully together. I believe that there was a fair amount of improvisation on the set between these two, and they both rise exceptionally well to the challenge, so secure in their characterisation that they are able to make the most of any opportunity to inject some spontaneity into their performance.
I was a little surprised that the audience with whom I saw this film in the cinema were as quiet as they were. The film - in my opinion - didn't really give you a chance to breathe with all the comedy going on - but the rest of the audience almost never laughed. I would have laughed more had I not wanted to draw too much attention to myself. I think if I were watching this alone, I would be laughing hysterically from start to finish, and I would say this film is at least as funny as the original, if not more so.
Director Chris Addison has shown that by simply mixing things up a bit, there is plenty to improve on from the 1988 film, and that this film stands on its own as a very clever, modern comedy.
7 1/2 out of 10.
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