Coen brothers deliver a rare turkey with Gambit

Director: Michael Hoffman

Starring: Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman, Tom Courtenay

**

Based on the 1966 classic starring Michael Caine and Shirley Maclaine, this remake was written by those masters of deadpan mirth, Joel and Ethan Coen, and features an all-star cast. What could possibly go wrong? Pretty much everything.

Colin Firth plays Harry Deane, a downtrodden London art curator who enlists a trashy Texas rodeo queen (Cameron Diaz) to help mount an elaborate revenge robbery against his bullying media-tycoon boss (Alan Rickman).

The Coens have delivered a rare turkey of a script, full of juvenile slapstick and lazy tourist clichés. Diaz and Rickman fail to convince. Firth just about manages to maintain his dignity but overall Gambit is woefully low on laughs or charm.

Rent the original on DVD instead.