The Sting is a movie that I needed to finish before I had a strong opinion about it, and that opinion ended up being that it's a fantastic movie. Set in the 1930s and following con-man Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) as he joins Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to pull off the "big con", at several points I thought the story would go one direction but it veered off and surprised me at the end.
What I really didn't realize about The Sting is how comical it is, and that's probably due to how most of the Best Picture winners I've watched for this blog are serious with only some comic relief here and there. Some barely have even that. So it was kind of a relief when about half way through The Sting I realized that the movie was more funny than serious, but I didn't fully realize that until the very end. I won't spoil the ending for you; just trust me, you should watch it.
Redford is so famous that at first I had trouble seeing him as anyone than Robert Redford, but eventually I saw him more as Johnny Hooker. I don't think that speaks poorly of his acting; I just think that sometimes celebrities grow so huge in popularity (or notoriety in other cases) that is difficult for us as the audience to suspend belief and think of this person as someone else. I found it easier to believe Newman as Gondorff, so perhaps, just perhaps, he was the better actor in this movie. Or maybe I just haven't seen enough of his other movies. I have more familiarity with Newman as being the star on the bottle of ranch in my refrigerator than being a film star.
I know I'm not saying much about what the movie is about, but you'll thank me later for that. Put this one your list of films to watch, and watch it when you want a smart movie that will leave you cheerful.
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