The Sting II (1983)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Jeremy Kagan

Writer:

David S. Ward (written by)

Release Date:

18 February 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

The con is on... place your bets!

Plot:

This is another one of those movies that's a sequel to another, only different actors are playing the roles of the characters from the previous movie...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Boxing | Three Card Monte | Roller Coaster | Coney Island

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Jackie Gleason	...	Fargo Gondorff
Mac Davis	...	Jake Hooker
Teri Garr	...	Veronica
Karl Malden	...	Gus Macalinski
Oliver Reed	...	Doyle Lonnegan
Bert Remsen	...	Kid Colors
Kathalina Veniero	...	Blonde with Kid Colors
José Pérez	...	Carlos (Lonnegan's Guard) (as Jose Perez)
Larry Bishop	...	Gellecher (Lonnegan's 2nd Guard)
Francis X. McCarthy	...	Lonnegan's Thug (as Frank McCarthy)
Richard C. Adams	...	Lonnegan's Thug
Ron Rifkin	...	Eddie
Harry James	...	Band Leader
Frances Bergen	...	Lady Dorsett
Monica Lewis	...	Band Singer

Also Known As:

The Next Sting (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | UK:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Hooker rides the old fashioned wooden roller coaster at Coney Island (twice in the movie), his cap stays neatly in place on his head for the entire ride each time, without the need for him to hold it on his head in any way. In reality, his cap should have blown off during the first drop, where coasters of this type can reach speeds of 60-70mph.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: The Great Money Caper (#12.7)" (2000)

Not that bad

Of course "The Sting 2" is nowhere near the classic original. Of course Mac Davis and Jackie Gleason are no Newman and Redford. If you try to watch this film and keep the original completely out of mind you might enjoy it some. On it's own it's only average but not terrible.

Jackie Gleason is ok in his role though he looks rather bored. I thought Mac Davis came off much better and after his terrific dramatic role in "North Dallas Forty" he pulled off comedy fairly well. I wish he had done more with his acting career. Oliver Reed is just right as the bad guy and it is a reminder that Reed was almost always worth watching in even the worst of films ("Venom" being a prime example).

The big problem with "Sting 2" is the script which is odd seeing it was written by David S. Ward who wrote the Oscar winning original. The big difference is that when the first film came out 10 years earlier the surprises were fresh and all the cons were not revealed until the end. Here there's a con in virtually every scene so the audience is conditioned to not believe what they have just seen. It takes away from the true surprises that come.

All in all there are worse movies to see. Lovers of the original should just steer clear but others may enjoy it. It's a mild diversion and nothing more.