Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Ex-cons set up an elaborate sting in a Georgia town, planning to take the townies for everything they've got---only the townies have the same plan.
Biased, pithy comments: I really like James Woods. He's kinda funny-looking, but he's got that nasal, annoying, fast-talking quality that makes him perfect for this sort of role. Likewise, Gossett, Platt, and Cobb look like they were born to play these scummy low-lifes. And indeed, the film is morally bankrupt at many levels---you're rooting for one crowd of thieves against another crowd of thieves, but the action, pacing, and plotting are excellent and, frankly, I'm a bit of a moral relativist. Do you like movies like ``The Sting?'' Then you'll like this one.
Other Notes: Music by James Newton Howard---southern music during credits is very nicely mixed.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: James Woods, Louis Gossett Jr., Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt, Heather Graham, Randall `Tex' Cobb.
Directed by: Michael Ritchie