Art of the Steal, The (3/14/2014)

Rated R for language throughout including some sexual references.

Starring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Jay Baruchel

Directed Jonathan Sobol

Not the worst heist film, but not the best either.

Crunch Calhoun (Kurt Russell), a third rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief, agrees to get back into the con game and pull off just one more lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother Nicky (Matt Dillon). Crunch reassembles the old team and comes up with a plan to steal a priceless historical book, but the successful heist leads to another, far riskier, plan devised by Nicky. What the brothers don’t realize is they each have their own agenda and their plan goes awry in this con movie about brotherhood, honor and revenge.

This caper film spends a lot of time explaining what’s going to happen, and then explaining what happened, which can get slightly annoying. So let me do a little of that myself. The caper — not a spoiler — involves swapping real art for counterfeit art and …you know what, it’s really not that important.

Because the meat of the film is in the characters: Crunch is a hustler with a serious lack of integrity; Nicky, his brother, was responsible for Crunch’s five-plus years in prison. Paddy is a foxy old dog with a trail of romances, and Guy is the insufferable Frenchman who always seems to turn up in these movies.

Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are decent in their roles and Jay Baruchel brings some humor as Crunch’s sidekick.

I know I was hoping for more, but if the movie is “free”, it’s worth watching.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is no sex or nudity, but there are several sexual references.

There are several F-words and other profanity.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. The “crew” has spent most of their lives stealing from “marks.” Have you ever stolen anything? (Be prepared to share a personal story about stealing something large or small, if possible.)


2. How does that story compare to what the crew was stealing in the film?


3. Is stealing ok if it’s just something small? Why or why not?


4. Read Exodus 20:15
   
   “You shall not steal.”
   
   That’s pretty plain, but what should we say to those who do steal or have stolen?


5. Read Ephesians 4:28
   
   Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
   
   What can you do this week to help someone in need?