Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: A con artist comedy that's a lot of fun, even if you can easily predict how everything will play out. What really works here are the performances by Martin and Michael Caine as the competing scammers. They play their characters perfectly and yield as much humor as possible out of both of them. I wasn't crazy about Glenn Headly, who plays the women they're trying to con, but she doesn't detract from things greatly. Nothing fancy here, just good ol' fun and laughs. Rating: ***
The Spanish Prisoner: This is a little known drama from 1997. So little in fact, that I didn't even know much about it before watching it online through Netflix. Steve Martin plays another con artist here, but this is really an ensemble film that also includes Campbell Scott, Felicity Huffman, and Ricky Jay. I thought this was very well done with a lot of twists and turns in a similar vein (although not as great as The Usual Suspects). The only caveat I'll offer is that the film was written and directed by David Mamet, who has a very unique style that is not everybody's tastes. If you enjoy his type of dialogue, you should enjoy this. Rating: ****
Baby Mama: Steve Martin isn't the star here, but since he does have a supporting role, I figured I'd throw this review into the post as well. This is the moderately successful comedy from last year starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. There are some really funny moments in here, including many from Martin, who plays Fey's boss. However, the story is very pedestrian and I struggled to remain interested. I did like the romance that develops between Fey and Greg Kinnear, who I typically find too smarmy to be likeable. Had Fey written this film, like she did for Mean Girls, this would have been a lot better. Rating: ***
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