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2002. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.

How lame am I? I put this movie in the DVD player, I had no idea that it’s a scene by scene, sometimes shot by shot remake of Big Deal on Madonna Street, which I just finished watching ten minutes earlier.

Last night, it was a Steven Soderbergh production of a remake of a classic Argentinian crime film.  Tonight, it’s a Steven Soderbergh production of a remake of a classic Italian crime film.  Small world.

So obviously, that’s not the way to watch this movie.  But that’s the way this particular cookie crumbled.

Interesting as a study in contrasts.  Whereas the original is full of roguish charm and bittersweet human comedy, the remake comes off as arch, forced, cartoonish, broad and insincere.  The cast includes Sam Rockwell (Mr. Insincere himself) and a number of other Smart Actors Playing Stupid, including WH Macy and George Clooney, who handled this sort of task much better in Fargo and O Brother.

Where the original ended on its wistful, humanist  note, the remake must Make Nice and Spell Out What It All Means, as American remakes of foreign films must.  A lesson for us all.

Big Deal on Madonna Street was remade once before in 1984 as Crackers, directed by Louis Malle.  Anyone see it?