The Sting II

Day 225 - 8/13/09 - Movie #221

BEFORE: Of course, I've seen "The Sting" - it's a classic film featuring 2 of America's most beloved actors, and generally regarded as one of the best films of the 1970's. Its sequel? Not so much...but I know that it features a boxing-themed scam, so it fits with my theme this week, and I can now cross it off my list. Also, these boxing pics have been running long, averaging about 2 1/2 hours each, and I still have to make it to work in the morning - so I need a short Thurs. film, and I can watch the longer films on the weekend.

THE PLOT: Lonnegan is planning to get back at Gondorf and Hooker for bilking him out of half a million. At the same time Gondorf and Hooker pull a con on Macalinski, an especially nasty mob boss, with the help of Veronica, a new grifter.

AFTER: Yeah, no Newman and Redford in this one - instead we get the ultimate "Hustler", Jackie Gleason as Gondorf and Mac Davis (?) as Hooker. (I can almost see a facial resemblance between Mac Davis and Paul Newman - but Davis subbing for Redford? No way...) Plus Teri Garr's along for the ride - and we get some class from Oliver Reed (subbing in for Robert Shaw as Lonnegan) and Karl Malden (where's your tribute to Malden, TCM? I need a copy of "A Streetcar Named Desire"...)

The action is moved from 1930's Chicago to New York, with a nice cameo by the Coney Island Boardwalk and the Cyclone roller-coaster. No date is given - but how many years does it take for Paul Newman's character to get fat and old like Jackie Gleason and change his name from Henry to Fargo? Lonnegan wants revenge for the con seen in the first film, which implies that not too much time has passed, but Gondorf makes a reference to spending 2 years in prison - so the timeline is muddled at best.

Except for the acting substitutions, this is a LOT like the first film, just with a boxing match standing in for a horse race. It's got the makings of a good double/triple cross, but does it deliver? Technically, yes, but it all feels sort of forced somehow. There are schemes within schemes, but that just sort of makes it hard to follow, and a little hard to swallow. There's just NO way Gondorf saw that many steps ahead...

I've got a whole list of heist/scam films, which I hope to get to in September, after a bunch of prison films. Hurm...maybe it would make more sense to watch the heist films first, before spending time in the joint. Must consider this further.

RATING: 5 out of 10 betting slips