Video Picks Archive

October 10, 2001
This Week's Video Picks
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Reviews by Matt Heffernan <matt@filmhead.com>

This week my picks are Heartbreakers (2001 - ) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988 - ).

The first pick this week is a charmingly dark comedy about a mother-daughter team of con artists, played by Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Their game: Weaver marries wealthy men, who are then seduced by Hewitt, ending in a very profitable divorce. In an attempt for one last big score, they go after dying tobacco tycoon Gene Hackman. Despite a rather predictable plot, Heartbreakers works quite well, thanks mostly to its excellent cast, which also includes Ray Liotta and Jason Lee.
Full review from March 23, 2001

The second film is one of the best entries in this genre from recent years (although 1988 is getting less recent by the day). The title characters in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels are Michael Caine and Steve Martin, who practice their dark art on the French Riviera. After Martin gets some career advice from Caine, he challenges Caine to a contest to see who can swindle "Soap Queen" Glenne Headly first. This film is a true joy for anyone who likes seeing, well, dirty rotten scoundrels doing their thing. The laughs may be cheap, and at the expense of some characters' pain, but they are good and plentiful. However, if you remember the original trailer, don't expect to see the shot of Martin pushing someone off a pier; it's not part of the film itself, to many people's chagrin (but not, I imagine, for the person who was pushed).

Here's some merchandise for sale at

Heartbreakers (2001)	-- VHS
Heartbreakers (2001)	-- DVD
Heartbreakers: Soundtrack	-- Compact Disc
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)	-- VHS
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)	-- DVD

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