Art curator Harry Deane (Colin Firth) intends to take revenge against his abusive boss Shabandar (Alan Rickman) by getting him to buy a fake Monet which was stolen by the Nazis. With the forger Major, they recruit cowgirl PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz) for the job. They take a picture of PJ with Grandma Merle (Cloris Leachman) and the fake picture hanging in their Texas trailer. Her grandfather had led the American takeover of the Nazi compound. Shabandar is not as eager as Harry had hoped as the scam drains his coffers. Shabandar brings in his private curator Martin Zaidenweber (Stanley Tucci).

The Coen brothers adapted the script and it needed them to bring their vision to fruition. Everybody is doing a slightly off wacky. I'm sure the Coens would have calibrated the characters correctly but far too often, the characters come off as silly cartoons. It's rather annoying to see these characters done so badly. Watching this movie is like trying to listen to that Japanese character saying his English lines. None of it is funny and some of it can be offensive to the senses.

Gambit is a tepid and disappointing remake written by the Coen Brothers who have rendered it as a farce and an unfunny one at that.

Harry Deane (Colin Firth) is an art curator for nasty businessman Lionel Shahbandar (Alan Rickman) who has a low opinion of Deane.

Deane decides to cheat Shahbandar by getting his old art forger pal Major Wingate (Tom Courtenay) to fake a 'lost' Monet painting that has been discovered in a trailer in Texas. Deane recruits an accomplice from America PJ (Cameron Diaz) who is feisty and someone Deane becomes attracted to.

Firth goes back to the default posh English repressed nerd that he used to play in the moderately budgeted US co-productions before he won his Best Actor Oscar. Now he has got an Oscar there was no need for him to appear in such a movie. I guess he wanted to work with the Coens and look like Michael Caine.

Harry Deane (Colin Firth) wants to scam his boss Lionel (Alan Rickman) for no other reason than Lionel is not a nice man. He employs the help of Texan PJ (Cameron Diaz) to help him with the scam that runs into problems.

The film is reminiscent of a 60's style comedy. The main problem was Diaz's character whose accent and sayings were more cringe worthy than funny. The film makes good use of showcasing Diaz's gams, but outside of that, her character fell flat.

It is a comedy worth a view if you are looking for something amusing which doesn't require you to think too hard. I personally find "The Brothers Broom" a far superior scam flick.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs or sex. Diaz bra/panties. "Partial nudity" means Rickman's butt.