Review of The Sting (1973) by Nik M — 07 Mar 2016

Butch and Sundance are back together yet again for yet more charming criminal hijinks. Man, George Roy Hill sure loved sticking Paul Newman and Rob Redford in crime films along those charming lines, which I don't mind too much, just as long as it got those two crackerjack charismas together. Of course, maybe I could have done without being bored when there's no humor really sparkling all that much, because, say what "you" will about G.R. Hill, I might not join you in your sentiment, because the man made a comedy about hokey boring, and that's one of the three or four major sports that's not boring. Well, granted, that might just be because there's about as much fighting in hokey as there is in boxing, but either way, the point is that "Slop Shot" got fairly slow and repetitious (One more cue of Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" and I would have blown a fuse), and Redford wasn't there to back Newman up in making it all that exciting, which is shocking, because under G.R. Hill's eyes, you would have thought that Newman and Redford were inseparable. Well, even if they were to team up more, the partnership would have ended abruptly after a while, not because Newman died, but because they would have been too different, seeing as how Newman died still reasonably handsome, while Redford is starting to look like the horses that he whispered too. Look out, Brad Pitt, because the guy were evidently cloned from didn't stay pretty forever, though thank goodness Redford at least stayed a good actor... I guess, even though he hasn't actually acted in a film in years. That's a shame, because I'm betting he would still be keeping things going strong, seeing as how he was already holding his own with Newman even back in '73, though not quite enough completely keep this film from going on all that strong.

Actually, with all of my complaints about George Roy Hill really dulling down his films quite a bit, this film isn't quite as slow as other G.R. Hill efforts... which is, of course, not saying much. Well, sure enough, the film remains quite slow in quite a couple of spots, drying up and limping out to create genuine dull points - especially during certain barely bearable moments of near-dead-silence and over meditation upon nothing - that really drag it down, if not leave it to stop dead-cold in its tracks. This leaves the film often easy to fall out of, and it doesn't help that exposition also tends to just plain fall out of the film, and by that, I mean that exposition is what I would describe as in-and-out. The film will have points where it tells you what you need to know, then drop a shift in story that feels rather jarring, as there's not enough blank filling to be found on occasions, thus rendering the film, on occasions, a tad hard to follow and even slightly uneven, a situation that's worse on the extremely rare, yet still pretty off-putting occasions in which they incorporate Marvin Hamlisch's way too overly chipper and sometimes terribly unfitting score work. The film is just a bit lacking in its delivering on a terribly sharp - pardon the word choice - "sting", standing uneven as an often disengaging "thriller". However, with all of its faults, this still is no "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", in terms of messiness and slowness, yet that's not the only reason why this film is not simply better than something like "Butch and Sundance", but genuinely good. The film stands to hit harder, yet when it strikes, it, well, "stings", keeping you with it long enough for you to find yourself genuinely enjoying the final product, or at least most of the writing behind it.

David S. Ward's screenplay is hardly spotless, suffering from the aforementioned unevenness in exposition, yet on the whole, this script is almost better than it has a right to be. The concepts behind this film are unique and nifty, with clever set pieces staying faithful to the slickness of it all and plenty of charm to spare, thanks to plenty of snap. Now, the film itself isn't terribly snappy, being so slow at points, yet the dialogue, on the other hand, is engaging in its being reasonably down to earth, as well as entertaining in its being often ever so snappy, really juicing up the mostly pretty effective comic relief, as well as the charm. Still, the dialogue and humor isn't only sharp aspect to this film that ultimately makes its good deal of limp spots worth sitting through, as the film does eventually come down to highly unexpected and very - yes, I'm going to say it - "stinging" twists that leave you to walk away generally satisfied and with quite a bit to chew on. These twists are worth waiting for, though it's not at all like this film is simply underwhelming beforehand, because where it could have fallen as limp as some of G.R. Hill's simply average other efforts, this film is saved so greatly by the fact that Hill, while still very faulty in his direction, has a generally firm grip on the intrigue of the film, keeping more engaging than disengaging, mostly because he loosens his grip enough for you to really absord the charm within the screenplay, as well as the charm within the cast. Just about every member of this colorful cast is distinctly lively, with a few members even having the occasional bit of acting material to execute quite well, yet its leading men Robert Redford and Paul Newman who, of course, particularly step up, both by their own rights and as a duo. The charming pair return to win you over yet again and carry this film with sparkling chemistry and slick presence, something that can be said about them in "Butch and Sundance", and with this film being decidedly superior, it makes the impact of our leads all the sharper, making them among the biggest reasons why this film ultimately delivers more than it falls short.

To close this case, while the film is not quite as other George Roy Hill pictures, it remains slow, if not just plain dull to the point of stopping the film's momentum cold, while uneven exposition leaves the final product a rather messy one, yet still a relatively strong piece within the George Roy Hill catalogue, boasting a generally sharp script by David S. Ward, who provides unique concepts that go complimented by nifty set pieces and, of course, snappy dialogue and humor, made all the sweeter by a slew of charming performances among the colorful cast - from which Robert Redford and Paul Newman obviously step up -, thus making for a fine recipe for enjoyment value until we come down to the provocative twist that is merely one of quite a few strengths that ultimately leave "The Sting" a rewarding venture that's generally worth the slow spots.

3/5 - Good.