DJ: Well, chief, you want to get this show on the road?

Dustin: Let’s kick this pig.

DJ: You start it off with an intro or something. I'm trying to get drunk.

Dustin: So this is how you prepare to review movies now? Show up three sheets to the wind? Oh hi, readers... didn't see you come in. I'm Dustin, and this lummox that smells of Colt 45 is my extremely professional partner in crime, D.J.

DJ: Billy Dee style, bitches. Smooth like Lando.

Dustin: Paul Newman could kick Lando's ass.

DJ: Perhaps, but he doesn't have a cape.

Dustin: Feh, like Paul Newman NEEDS a cape. Mo Fo can wear a hat as good as any man on the planet!

DJ: And that Redford ain't now slouch either. I mean, c'mon. He's not. I'm just saying is all. Just saying!

Dustin: Right, and I didn't even comment on the sheer power of "young" Redford. Those two... just like Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan -- two hard-ass guys that when teamed up are like... two guys that really work well together! Yeah, dig it, fool!

DJ: So, since I've never seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and it says The Sting at the start of this here “Spoiler Warning,” it’d seem we’re jibbajabbering about The Sting. Wanna give a shot at the basics for the readers before we continue going on and on about how handsome Newman and Redford are?

Dustin: Okay, in a nutshell... Redford plays the part of Johnny Hooker, a small-time but successful grifter living in Chicago during the Great Depression. By sheer chance, he gets tangled up with an Irish Mob boss, Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), and his mentor gets killed as a result. So, in the spirit of revenge, Hooker goes off to the Jedi Temple with a squad of Stormtroopers and... frack! Wrong damn movie again.

DJ: Focus, man! Focus! The Sting!

Dustin: Uh, revenge... revenge... oh, remember it now. He seeks out the help of Henry Gondorff (Newman), a seasoned veteran of "the big con" game, to get back at Lonnegan in the most American methods of revenge, stealing a shit ton of his money. Hilarity does ensue as we are then privy to the set up and execution of the con by Newman and Redford, steered through a variety of surprisingly effective plot twists and deceptions, and get to revel in the times that Ray Walston (of television's My Favorite Martian) is on screen. Love that guy.

DJ: Hell yeah. There are tons of familiar faces in this flick, aside from the handsomely handsome leads. A veritable who's who of character gold. So, the readers who haven't seen this know what it's about now. What'd you think? Of the movie, not your synopsis.

Dustin: That's good, I didn't want to have to recap my synopsis -- I feel that it lacked focus in the second act. But The Sting, on the other hand is an enjoyable movie to the last, excepting that it too suffered from a little dramatic bloating in the middle parts.

DJ: Dramatic bloating, eh? I might agree with you, but I don't know what you mean. Do you mean it was overdramatic? That its drama seemed a bit bloated to you? Or something else?

Dustin: I mean it in the sense of it was a little overworked, I think. It could have lost about 10 minutes of time throughout the middle and approaching the climax. Nobody out there likes it when a climax happens too fast, but this one maybe goes the other way, and you have to work a little too hard in relation to the payoff you eventually get.

DJ: Ah, yeah. I see. True. I, too, felt like they went through a LOT of work, and then the end was like, "Kudos!" and that was it. I see what you mean. They could've trimmed some of the middle... or added some to the end. Like a hillbilly white dude with a beer gut, but a flat, cracker ass or something. Kind of. Maybe. Never mind.

Dustin: I think the other comment I would make overall -- and this is sort of a tangent at that -- is that I really felt connective material between this movie and the George Clooney version of Ocean's Eleven , but NOT retroactively backward to the Rat Pack version. It was like the Clooney version stole a lot of the spirit not just from the Rat Pack movie, but also from The Sting, which of course being made in 1973 easily falls between the two.

DJ: I can see that. This is filled with glamorous stars and a bunch of what essentially amount to bit parts that, through the writing and performances, still have enough spark to make all of the characters fun. No small feat, and it really gives the film a sense of camaraderie, which, yeah, Ocean’s Eleven seems to have, too, though, The Sting is a more accomplished work. The light hearted feeling, even when there is the possibility of real danger is pretty comparable, too. The Sting has more gravitas in parts, however, which adds to the entertainment.

Dustin: Agreed... and I would take Redford and Newman separately against Clooney for sure. I mean props to George and all, he's great, but Redford and Newman just own the screen when they're on it with their presence.

DJ: And this is them at their prime. Though they both seem to be healthier than me even nowadays, and what are they? 81 and 70? Shit.

Dustin: They didn't have the wealth of burrito accessibility that we have in our day. So we're playing that game with a handicap.

DJ: True. I bet they'd trade their old school health and looks for a delicious carnitas burrito with a little sour cream and extra cheese, though. Who wouldn't? But I digress... What'd you think of the often jaunty, ragtimey feel of the flick?

Dustin: Beautiful. The ragtime music did as much to add to the authenticity of feel as the art direction did. And plus, the feel of ragtime is such that it's playful and a little sneaky on its own, so it also was a wonderful way to underscore the excitement and, well, fun that these characters must've been having while playing this dangerous game with a guy that could have them all killed.

DJ: Yeah! Exactly my thoughts. When Hooker is being chased by some flat foot or hood that wants to shoot his ass dead, there's that fun ragtime soundtrack playing that makes a really nice contrast to what is essentially life or death action on the screen. What highlights this further are the instances when there is NO music playing. It really heightened the drama of those instances for me. And it just made the move really feel of its time, as most big flicks nowadays have music playing at every dramatic moment.

Dustin: On to the "supporting cast," then: what we have here is quite the collection in addition to My Favorite Martian. Just at a quick glance, we also see Charles During playing a key role as the secondary bad guy, obviously preparing to bear the mantle of Kermit the Frog's enemy "Doc Hopper" several years later.

DJ: Walton uses his voice perfectly in The Sting, and Durning makes a great shady 1920s cop. Who was the majorly mustachioed fella in on the con with Gondorff and Hooker? He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him.

Dustin: I think you're talking about Harold Gould... an earlier entry into the "Oh, it's that guy" file. You may remember him for such roles as "guy that was on an episode of every single TV show that you watched in the 80s." Seriously, the guy's entry on IMDB is looooooooong.

DJ: Yeah, him. He was swell. Everyone was swell. Robert Shaw as baddie Doyle Lonnegan, Dana Elcar as the FBI agent-- swell cast. Though, one thing did bother me, and it might make me seem like an ass.

Dustin: As opposed to everything else that marks you as such? I can't wait to hear this.

DJ: Hardee har har... See, you have Newman and Redford, two guys even the most hetero of men must go, "Yup, they're good lookin'." Just sound genetic specimens, right?

Dustin: Oh, I see where you're going this... I'm sure you're going to ask the same question that I did while watching this.... how is it on God's name that this guys can't get a single attractive hook-up?

DJ: Right on the nose, sir. I mean, Newman’s Gondorff is shacking up with Eileen Brennan's Billie. Mrs. Peacock for fuck's sake!

Dustin: Yes, it's pretty damn incongruous.

DJ: (Big word kudos!) And Redford has some skanky flooz at the beginning, then falls for this character Loretta (Dimitra Arliss) who, no offense to the lady (though what I’m saying is offensive), kind of looks like the Bird Lady from those old The Kids in the Hall sketches. I sound like the jerk that I am, but, I mean… just, honestly, in a way, this took me out of the movie. I mean -- MRS. PEACOCK with PAUL FUCKING NEWMAN??? Ah, the seventies.

Dustin: I thought Arliss was Rhea Perlman's ugly cousin.

DJ: Close, but that's Danny DeVito. Anyway, aside from handsome men with homely women (the reverse has been happening for years on sitcoms to balance this), I have no beef with The Sting. It has the slower, more easygoing 70s pacing that might cause the ADD riddled modern moviegoer to get a little antsy, but, for me, I was entertained the whole time, even when I didn't know what anyone was up to. Which was often.

Dustin: I agree with every single bit of that. And double so that the writing was also quite good. So overall, you'd score this one as...?

DJ: Shit, what’s our scale again?

Dustin: I was just having an anxiety attack because I couldn't remember either. Quick, make some shit up.

DJ: Uh… Handsome leads: 5 out of 5. Jaunty fun and snappy style: 6 out of 5 (extra point for the stylish chapter headings that turned like a page). Male to female couple attractiveness realism: 0 out of 5. It's the only place where the film truly falters.

Dustin: Great, and I'm scoring it as a 5 out of 5 for a supporting cast of "that guy"s, a 2 out of 5 for believability of Robert Shaw's Irish accent, and a 4 out of 5 for the enjoyment of seeing Billie's whores riding the carousel. "Whores on a Carousel" is my new favorite swear phrase.

DJ: "Whores on a Carousel"! Sounds to me like you finally have a name of your long in progress autobiography. So, yeah, watching this makes me definitely want to check out Newman, Redford, and director George Roy Hill's first collaboration, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, AND, shoot, I wouldn't mind seeing The Sting again. Not a hilarious comedy or action-packed caper, but a little of both, to a really good-timey effect. I'm glad you picked this one, Dustin (Gondorff to my Hooker).

Dustin: I'll give you that comparison solely on the strength that your jaw is better than mine.

DJ: It’s just bigger, and bigger isn’t always better. I repeat that mantra over and over again as I weep myself to sleep every night.