Art expert Harry (Firth) has a score to settle with billionaire Lionel (Rickman), and plans an elaborate con involving a fake Monet painted by his talented cohort Wingate (Courtenay). But he needs the sexy Texan PJ (Diaz) to make the scam work, and she doesn't behave quite the way he hopes she will. While PJ shamelessly flirts with Lionel, Harry sneaks around in the background struggling to pay for her excesses and trying to keep the game in play. Meanwhile, Lionel is working on an elaborate business deal with a group of savvy Japanese businessmen.

After the animated Pink Panther-style titles, the equally retro script and direction relax into the zany slapstick. Actors are encouraged to play up a single personality trait until we stop recognising them as actual people. Fortunately, they're skilled enough to just about get away with it. Firth remains likeable as the oft-injured Harry, maintaining his dignity even through an extended sequence in which he misplaces his trousers at the Savoy (as you do). Rickman slithers amusingly as the louche Lionel. And Diaz goes for broke with a wobbly Texan twang and sexy schtick that's never remotely seductive.

Hoffman never tries to ground anything in reality, playing up farcical elements even though they have little to do with the plot. The flirting between Harry and PJ never takes root due to a lack of chemistry, wobbly plotting and half-hearted direction. The sequence involving a lion (prominently featured in the ad campaign) is both lacklustre and nonsensical. And the elaborate con itself feels eerily predictable right to the double-twist ending.

Even so, it's clear that the actors are having fun, and this is sometimes infectious. Several moments elicit strong laughter, and the film's breezy tone holds our interest. There are also a few side characters who make the most of their brief scenes, most notably Tucci in yet another hilariously absurd Euro-trash role and Rhind-Tutt as a sardonic Savoy concierge. But by keeping everything so simplistic, the film is also forgettable.

themes, language, innuendo, violence

8.Nov.12