THE CON IS ON

US, 2018, 90 minutes, Colour.
Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Maggie Q, Alice Eve, Stephen Fry, Edward Zo, Crispin Glover, Parker Posey, Sofia Vergera.
Directed by James Haslam.

This is a confidence trickster’s film that seems something of a confidence trick in itself

It opens in St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and the old nun praying, seemingly out of Call the Midwife, but who turns out to be a drug dealer with a four-letter repertoire, a rendezvous with the central confidence trickster played by Uma Thurman. She turns out to be an inveterate gambler at poker, has taken money from the sinister criminal with whom she had a past relationship, Maggie Q. Her present relationship with her new husband, played by a perpetually grumpy Tim Roth, perpetually drinking, perpetually swearing, caught up in all the antics. He has been married to Alice Eve, all provocative glamour, an actress now married to Crispin Glover. He is making a film and is having a relationship with his main star, Sofia Vergerra. His assistant, played by a blonde Parker Posey, is insanely in love with him.

Added to that is Stephen Fry in a horrible caricature performance, first seen as a priest hosing down street people, a drug dealer, ostentatiously gay with a Korean assistant, affirming the fleeing couple in Los Angeles but then betraying them – with various gay memories including some assault.

Most of the action then takes place in Alice Eve’s mansion, the couple wanting to steal her valuable ring, all things going wrong, the criminals turning up in Los Angeles, aided by Stephen Fry, the couple eluding detection, fleeing from hotels, hiding in the mansion and Uma Thurman pretending to be a dog whisperer.

If you have read these paragraphs, and that is probably more than enough, definitely more than enough then seeing the film is superfluous – although reading the unanimous views of the IMDb bloggers, starting with “Atrocious�, is much more interesting and entertaining than seeing the film!