Ever see Alan Rickman naked? Would you like to?
The “Die Hard” star (I’ll bet he hates that) strips down to his birthday suit in the first full trailer for “Gambit,” the Coen Bros.-scripted remake of the classic 1966 caper comedy that starred Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine.
And he’s not the only one who gets shed-happy – if there’s one thing this trailer has, it’s name actors unburdening themselves of at least one major article of clothing (yes, Cameron Diaz has a scene in lingerie).
Directed by Michael Hoffman (“Soapdish,” “The Last Station”), “Gambit” has been floating around Hollywood in some iteration or another since the late ’90s, with directors including Alexander Payne, Robert Altman and…erm, Bo Welch all flirting with the project at one point or another. Perhaps the only semi-constant on the project (outside of producer Mike Lobell) is Colin Firth, who was first attached to star as Harry Deane (the role originally played by Caine) close to a decade ago.
The version of “Gambit” we’ve ended up with – still a heist comedy but with several revised plot elements and characterizations – is currently without a U.S. release date (it was recently pushed back to 2013 after originally being slated for the fall), so I guess we’ll have to wait and see where distributor CBS Films ends up dumping I mean releasing it. In any case, the trailer is diverting enough and sorta cute (if not an entirely convincing case for the remake’s existence), but with a screenplay by the Coens and a top-notch cast (the film also stars Stanley Tucci and Cloris Leachman, among others) we can at the very least hope for a similarly diverting, if not exactly inspiring, night at the movies.
My grade for the trailer: B. After watching it below, you can rate it for yourself at top left.
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Official plot summary:
An art curator (Colin Firth) decides to seek revenge on his abusive boss (Alan Rickman) by conning him into buying a fake Monet, but his plan requires the help of an eccentric and unpredictable Texas rodeo queen (Cameron Diaz).