The Sting stung me!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just had my mind properly blown!

"All it takes is a little bit of confidence."

Now, don't ask me why I waited so long to see this movie -- let's pretend that it was just released in 2013 and I wasted no time at all in going to buy myself a ticket for its opening weekend *wink* In fact, The Sting (1973) has always been on my "to-watch" list, but it's one of those movies that I've never gotten around to seeing (until now, that is). The month of February has always been a virtual goldmine on TCM for classic movie lovers because the entire month is devoted to Academy Award winners (and losers). At the beginning of last week, I heard that The Sting would be on on Thursday night so I went ahead and set my DVR for the film's 10:45 PM showing. I figured that I would set aside some time on the weekend to watch it - and that's exactly what I did this afternoon (nothing like a lazy Sunday to catch up on my TCM viewing!).

Paul Newman is in on it. Are you?

HOLY COW WHATTA MOVIE!

There are many classics that I think just don't live up to the hype (Citizen Kane anyone?) but this movie deserves every single accolade it's received from day-fucking-one! When I start swearing, that's when you can tell that I'm impressed and ready to pounce! When I sat down this afternoon to watch The Sting, my Dad was in the room with me. I casually asked him if he had ever seen this movie before, and he answered: "Yes! Many times. It's a great movie." I can always trust my Dad's opinion on both movies and music because his taste is superb (I like to think that I took after him in both respects). So, right then, I knew I was in for something good!

This was the fastest 2+ hours I've sat through in a long time. The movie was full of laughs, twists and turns, and fist-pumping action. I can't tell you how many times I burst out laughing at the expense of the bad guys - well, just one really: Robert Shaw's gangster villain Doyle Lonnegan. I tell you, that scene of Paul Newman (Henry Gondorff) and Shaw facing off on the train during a game of high-stakes poker had me completely on edge and hooting and hollering by the end of it! It took everything I had inside of me not to yell out BOOO-YAH!! when Newman revealed his final (poker) hand.

Robert Redford scoping out the newsstand (I spy Fred & Ginger!).

Have I mentioned that Robert Redford is in this movie? Well, he is. In ALL his hunky, no-good-rascal glory. The Sting marked Redford's and Newman's second (and final) onscreen pairing - their first being Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid four years earlier in 1969. These two had incredible chemistry together - their personalities meshed well onscreen and off and it was evident that the two of them enjoyed working together immensely. It's a darn shame that they didn't make more movies together actually, because I would have loved to have seen them in more features - they're such a joy to watch! So witty, so debonair, so flipping manly the two of 'em *wink*

-- WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD! --

So, before I go, I have to tell you about my reaction to the final few minutes of the film. For those of you who have seen The Sting, you'll know that there is a big twist right at the end (and, to be fair, Robert Osbourne warned TCM viewers about it when he introduced the movie on Thursday night). When the twist occurred, this was basically the gist of my reaction: NO WAY!! THE WHOLE THING WAS A FUCKING JOKE!! HOLY MOLY!! THIS IS THE GREATEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN!! (Believe me, I'm not even kidding you).

If you're in the mood for a wild ride, please check out The Sting. I swear, you couldn't possibly regret it! The Sting won a whopping seven Academy Awards including one for Best Picture of 1973. It is currently available on both DVD and Bluray.