“The Con is On” is a film of lost potential, bad comedy and a pedestrian, clumsy script that makes this film a mere rental.
TITLE: The Con is On
FILM RELEASE: 2018
DURATION: 95 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:40:1, English DTS-HD Master Audio Audio 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH and Spanish
COMPANY: Lionsgate
RATED: R
Release Date: July 24, 2018
Directed by James Oakley
Written by Alex Michaelides, James Oakley
Produced by Robert Ogden Barnum, Cassian Elws, Dave Hansen
Co-Producer: William Clevinger, Elliott Michael Smith
Executive Producer: Dom Genest, Matthew Helderman, Ali Jazayeri, David Kyle, Johnny Mac, Quinn Meyers, Gregory P. Shockro, Ike Suri, Jaclyn Ann Suri, Luke Taylor, Viviana Zarragoitia
Music by Charlie Klarsfield, Zachary Seman
Cinematography by Joseph White
Edited by Anthony Boys
Casting by Shannon Makhanian
Production Design by Laura Miller
Art Direction: Alison Nguyen
Set Decoration by Emily E.A. Baker, Nico Barnes, Christina Cook, Sally Levi, Richard Lieberman, Tricia Peck
Costume Design by Anna Bingemann
Starring:
Uma Thurman as Harriet Fox
Tim Roth as Peter Fox
Alice Eve as Jackie
Maggie Q as Irina
Parker Posey as Gina
Sofia Vergara as Vivien
Crispin Glover as Gabriel Anderson
Stephen Fry as Sidney
Melissa Sue Anderson as Guest Two (Lady Olivia)
Sharon Maughan as Guest One (Lady Victoria).
From the producers who brought you Neighbors and This Is the End, comes the outrageous comedy: Blockers. When three parents (John Cena, Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz) stumble upon their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal.
From James Oakley, director of “The Devil You Know and “We Are What We Are” comes a heist comedy starring Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill” films, “Pulp Fiction”), Tim Roth (“Pulp Fiction”, “The Hateful Eight”, “Planet of the Apes”), Alice Eve (“Before We Go”, “She’s Out of My League”, “Star Trek: Into Darkness”), Parker Posey (“Scream 3”, “Superman Returns”, “Blade: Trinity”), Maggie Q (“Divergent”, “Mission: Impossible III”, “Insurgent”, “Live Free or Die Hard”), Crispin Glover (“Back to the Future”, “Alice in Wonderland”), Stephen Fry (“Gosford Park”, “V for Vendetta”, “Wilde”) and Sofia Vergara (“Hot Pursuit”, “Modern Family”, “The Three Stooges”).
And now “The Con is On” will be made available on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Lionsgate.
Harriet Fox (portrayed by Uma Thurman) had one mission and that was to deliver money to a mobster named Irina but instead, of delivering it, Harriet gambled all of it and lost it.
Now this notorious mobster/assassin Irina (portrayed by Maggie Q), a woman who was in love with Harriet, wants her money back or she dies.
But Harriet and her husband Peter (portrayed by Tim Roth) have run off to Los Angeles.
The goal, to steal a ring with an expensive jewel from Peter’s ex-wife Jackie (portrayed by Alice Eve). Meanwhile, Jackie’s husband, filmmaker Gabriel Anderson (portrayed by Crispin Glover), who gave her the expensive ring, is having an affair with actress Vivien (portrayed by Sofia Vergara) and Jackie’s assistant, Gina (portrayed by Parker Posey).
How can Harriet and Peter infiltrate the household and steal the ring? And what happens when Irina tracks the two down in Los Angeles?
VIDEO:
“The Con is On” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:45:1). Picture quality is very good as closeups show good detail. Lighting is good and for the most part, the film looks good on Blu-ray.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Con is On: is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA. Lossless audio features crystal clear dialogue. The film is primarily dialogue-driven but there are action sequences involving Harriet and Irina which do use the surround channels.
Subtitles are in English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Con is On” comes with a trailer.
EXTRAS:
“The Con is On” comes with a Movies Anywhere digital code and a slipcover.
Prior to watching “The Con is On”, there was part of me that was happy to watch this film and see Hollywood talents which I enjoyed back in the ’80s and ’90s such as Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, Parker Posey and Crispin Glover. And seeing Maggie Q, Alice Eve and Sofia Vergara is a positive addition to the ensemble.
After watching “The Con is On”, you start to realize that while Uma Thurman and Maggie Q have been in action roles before, unfortunately “The Con is On” is a film which suffers from a lackadaisical plot when it tries to incorporate too many characters in the mix.
I have no doubt that “The Con is On” would have been a better cat and mouse type of storyline if it focused on Maggie Q’s character, Irina, being a no-nonsense assassin on the hunt after Thurman’s character, Harriet.
There was room to play around with that but the film tries to incorporate this side-story involving Glover’s character, Gabriel Anderson, who is married and having an affair with two other women.
Posey’s Gina is a woman who can’t stand to see Gabriel with his wife and other girlfriend, Vivien. She’s always drunk and tries to be a comedy character that is distressed and often, doing stupid things. While Vergara’s Vivien is a narcissistic actress, that is overbearing and like Gina, is equally annoying.
The only genuine character happens to be the spoiled rich girl, Alice Eve’s Jackie, the person who wears the expensive ring which Harriet is trying to steal. And also a character that does a better job at the comedy and plays a character that is in the center of it all.
Jackie is the ex-wife of Peter Fox (Tim Roth), wife of Gabriel (Glove), that has the ring which Harriet (Thurman) wants, the person that Gina (Posey) is jealous of. But isn’t the story about Harriet and her husband, Peter trying to escape from an assassin?
And that lies the problem of “The Con is On”. The story shifts away from the primary characters too many times, than it should have. You don’t feel the danger that Harriet should be in, because the film is hampered by bad comedy that even the cat vs. mouse storyline makes Irina’s stone-cold killing machine character about a woman spurned and just wants Harriet’s love. But for Harriet, all she really cares about is money.
And for those expecting some sort of closure instead are treated with an ending that leaves things open for potential sequels, but would anyone want to give “The Con is On” a second try?
Overall, “The Con is On” is a film of lost potential, bad comedy and a pedestrian, clumsy script that makes this film a mere rental.
