I-cons of the industry

Indeed, it was movie day at the old Klown shack today. I had seen the Spanish Prisoner when it was first released, but I was still drawn into this "personal" rerun. David Mamet wrote and directed this con-job picture. If you are looking for anything closely resembling The Sting in this one, turn the other way. Grifters? Yes? Then, hide your wallet in your sock, grab a bowl of buttered Orville and prepare to be fooled again and again. Highly quotable lines mark most of Mamet's work and this film delivers on that presupposed promise. Oddly enough, Rebecca Pidgeon (David Mamet's wife) and real-life con-artist Ricky Jay could have easily been overshadowed by Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara or Campbell Scott in this picture, yet they outmock, outhustle and outshine in every scene.