''The Con Is On'' (previously titled ''The Brits Are Coming'') is a 2018
heist comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
James Oakley and co-written by
Alex Michaelides and Oakley. The film stars
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
,
Tim Roth
Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack".
He made his television debut ...
,
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
,
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. and
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley (Vietnamese: Lý Mỹ Kỳ; born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist, and model.
She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films ''Gen- ...
.
It was released in a
limited release and through
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
on May 4, 2018, by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
.
Plot
Harriet "Harry" and Peter Fox are a British con-artist couple living in London who plan a jewel heist in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, after escaping from a notorious female gangster named Irina.
Harry was paid handsomely by a nun who she dealt with during a cocaine deal. After receiving the money, she took a certain amount and played poker with it, while Peter, an alcoholic and drug addict, also spent some of the money on booze and cocaine. Harry and Peter lost all the money, so they flee to Los Angeles to hide out and debate their next move.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Harry and Peter meet up with an old friend of theirs named Sidney, a corrupt Catholic priest who does dirty jobs on the side for extra money. Harry and Peter make a deal with Sidney where he will pay them $40,000 if they manage to transport a shipment of opium. In the process, Peter learns that Irina is not just hunting them for money but also is seeking compensation as she has feelings for Harry and she dislikes Peter.
Sidney secretly contacts Irina after learning about the bounty on their heads. Irina flies out to L.A. with her henchman.
While hiding out at a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, Peter meets his ex-wife, Jackie, who is now married to Gabriel, a film director, who is also involved in a secret romance with both Gina, one of Jackie's relatives, and Vivienne, a brash Latina actress whom is pressuring him to leave Jackie. Attracted by Jackie’s £5 million (around $6.75 million) blue-stone ring, Harry and Peter plan to steal it and give it to Irina to pay her back for the losses of the botched drug deal. First, Harry and Peter visit a forger to make a copy of the ring in order to substitute it for the real one at a dinner party that Peter gets himself invited to at Jackie and Gabriel's mansion. But their plan is ruined by a drunk Gabriel and Vivienne who interrupt their plans.
After Irina finds where Harry and Peter are staying, they flee from the hotel and hide out at Jackie's mansion where Harry pretends to be a dog whisperer and delivers the wrong message to Jackie.
Jackie and Gabriel attend an awards show where Gabriel wins the award for Best Director of a Motion Picture, but while giving his acceptance speech, he dishonorably calls Vivienne his one true love. Angry and frustrated with Gabriel after their return home, Jackie gets into a big argument with him, Gina and Vivienne which leads to Jackie throwing away the ring and into Harry's wine glass.
Peter and Harry narrowly escape from mansion to the airport after a shootout with Irina and her henchman. During the chaos, Harry manages to wound Irina and gives her the duplicate ring they planned to swap from Jackie with. However, when they arrive at LAX, Harry discovers that they gave Irina the wrong ring, bringing the duplicate with them. Harry and Peter then board a flight to Brazil and fly off, penniless but free from the debt with Irina.
Cast
*
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
as Harriet 'Harry' Fox
*
Tim Roth
Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack".
He made his television debut ...
as Peter Fox
*
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
as Jackie
*
Parker Posey
Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations.
Posey made her film debu ...
as Gina
*
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley (Vietnamese: Lý Mỹ Kỳ; born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist, and model.
She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films ''Gen- ...
as Irina Solokov
*
Crispin Glover
Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors' ...
as Gabriel Anderson
*
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. as Vivienne
* Michael Sirow as Hans
*
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
as Sidney
*
Wilmer Calderon as Vlad
Production
On May 14, 2015, it was announced that
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
would star in the jewel-heist comedy ''The Brits Are Coming'', which
James Oakley would direct based on his own script, co-written with Alex Michaelides.
would also star, while
Cassian Elwes,
J. C. Chandor, Robert Ogden Barnum and William Clevinger would produce.
Tim Roth
Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack".
He made his television debut ...
,
Alice Eve
Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
,
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. ,
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley (Vietnamese: Lý Mỹ Kỳ; born May 22, 1979), professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American actress, activist, and model.
She began her professional career in Hong Kong, with starring roles in the action films ''Gen- ...
,
Parker Posey
Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations.
Posey made her film debu ...
and
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
were cast in the film on August 27, 2015.
It was confirmed that Dave Hansen would also be producing the film, while Chenoweth's involvement was not confirmed.
Elliott Michael Smith co-produced the production which was shot throughout Manhattan and Yonkers, New York.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
on the film began on July 20, 2015 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Release
The film was released on May 4, 2018, by
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics.
Gary Goldstein of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' calls the film "a stylish caper with enjoyably wry, martini-soaked dialogue and a terrific comedic turn by Uma Thurman as a glamorous British scam artist" but is highly critical of the second half of the film.
Matt Zoller Seitz writing for RogerEbert.com gives the film stars out of a possible 4, saying it is "The kind of movie that seems to think a heap of outrageous details equals a characterization."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Con Is On, The
2018 films
2010s crime comedy films
2010s heist films
American crime comedy films
American heist films
British crime comedy films
British heist films
Films shot in London
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films shot in New York City
2018 comedy films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2010s British films