Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
1988 · 110 min · Director: Frank Oz
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
Wealthy native Brit Lawrence Jamieson, living in Beaumont-sur-Mer on the French Riviera, earns most of his money through big cons on wealthy unsuspecting women. With the help of his associates, corrupt Police Inspector Andre, who provides him most of his intel, and his butler Arthur, he pulls scams such as pretending to be a foreign deposed Prince who needs money to finance a secret war to liberate his people. Beaumont-sur-Mer, and thus his world, is invaded by brash American Freddy Benson, another con man whose targets are also wealthy unsuspecting women. Lawrence believes Freddy is the Jackal, a con man whose true identity is unknown, but who is known to be working his way through Europe. While Lawrence works on thousands of dollars per scam, Freddy works only on tens or if he is lucky hundreds of dollars. Lawrence's efforts to get Freddy out of his territory are unsuccessful, so when Freddy figures out that Lawrence is a con man like he is, he decides to blackmail Lawrence to work under him to learn the art of the sophisticated and thus earn more lucrative con. Eventually, Lawrence and Freddy have a difference in how to operate their joint cons, so they issue each other an ultimatum: the person who is able to con a mark out of fifty thousand dollars first will get the French Riviera as their territory, with the other having to leave forever. Who they choose is naive and slightly bumbling American "soap Queen" Janet Colgate, who has just arrived in the area. The nature of how each tries to get the fifty thousand dollars from Janet changes over time, each needing to play off the other's con. But their focus may change with more information learned about the situation, as well as some external factors they did not anticipate.
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Emotional fingerprint
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Humor 45%, Surprise 25%, Excitement 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Humor45%
- Surprise25%
- Excitement20%
- Satisfaction10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Humor, Surprise, Excitement. Genres: Comedy, Crime. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Humor, Surprise and Excitement. Its IMDb rating of 7.4/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 76/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Humor
- Curiosity
- Surprise
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Curiosity
Dominant emotion: Humor
Dominant emotion: Surprise
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Humor | Curiosity | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Curiosity | 42 % | 35 % | 45 % | 12 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 8′ | Humor | 45 % | 44 % | 43 % | 14 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 14′ | Humor | 50 % | 53 % | 40 % | 16 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 19′ | Humor | 54 % | 55 % | 41 % | 20 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 25′ | Humor | 53 % | 53 % | 41 % | 20 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 30′ | Humor | 53 % | 53 % | 39 % | 20 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 36′ | Humor | 59 % | 60 % | 35 % | 27 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 41′ | Humor | 60 % | 60 % | 38 % | 27 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 47′ | Curiosity | 55 % | 51 % | 45 % | 20 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 52′ | Humor | 55 % | 53 % | 45 % | 21 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 58′ | Humor | 61 % | 61 % | 43 % | 28 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 63′ | Humor | 65 % | 64 % | 41 % | 29 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 69′ | Humor | 64 % | 60 % | 39 % | 28 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 74′ | Humor | 59 % | 53 % | 38 % | 25 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 80′ | Humor | 56 % | 49 % | 41 % | 24 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 85′ | Humor | 61 % | 55 % | 46 % | 30 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 91′ | Humor | 63 % | 52 % | 48 % | 37 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 96′ | Curiosity | 63 % | 45 % | 48 % | 50 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 102′ | Surprise | 68 % | 54 % | 44 % | 59 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 107′ | Humor | 68 % | 63 % | 38 % | 52 % |
Cinderella
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
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Cast
Miss Krista Knudsen
Lady with Pearls
Marion
Lady in Rolls Royce
English Sailor #2
Assistant Hotel Manager
Details
- Directed by
- Frank Oz
- Written by
- Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 1988
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Country
- United States
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Humor
- Data updated
Where to watch
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