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The Sting | Full Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2025-09-20 20:01:56
Imported:
2026-08

Content

I watched this film to honor the recent passing of Robert Redford. He has been in so many incredible movies over the years, and apparently even directed some as well! Over the summer, I saw him in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (thanks to KJ Gould's movie ticket pick), and of course I'll never forget him going up against Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier lol. But seeing him here in The Sting, at what feels like the peak of his charisma 😻, was something really special. Especially paired up with Paul Newman again!This movie was an absolute masterclass in storytelling! It sweeps you along with charm, wit, and razor-sharp tension that makes you lean closer and closer in with every twist. I spent the whole movie laughing hysterically at every clever con, only to realize by the end that I had been completely conned myself 😅Robert Redford was just shining in this movie. There was such spark in his performance! So much mischief and heart. It took me to an era that reminded me why stories like this endure. RIP Robert Redford. Your work will forever keep shining on. 🤍Thank you for your support on Patreon!Relax and enjoy 🍿🌿LINK: https://youtu.be/kKZ50hLslVsI watched this on Amazon Prime

Files

The Sting | Watch Along

Welcome in! 🌿 Grab a drink and get settled in!

Comments

Phil Stubblefield

Kali, I'm so excited you reacted to this quintessential film! It's a fitting tribute to a brilliantly prolific actor and director. He may be "Johnny Hooker" in this story, but I'll always remember him fondly for his most iconic role: RIP, Sundance! 🥲

Richard

Watched your outro so far, glad you enjoyed this. I tend to always like movies that feature a heist or elaborate caper such as this one. Don't know if you've ever seen any heist films like the Ocean's 11 series but one thing I notice is that I always start rooting for the crooks! I don't like that haha. This movie (and Paul Newman) made me think of your recent Tom Cruise initiative - one of my absolute favorite Tom Cruise movies is the one he co-starred with Paul Newman in from 1986 called The Color of Money. Cruise plays a cocky young pool shark who Newman takes under his wing. Newman's character is a reprisal of a role he played in 1961 called The Hustler. Newman won best actor and Cruise played his role very well. You may want to add that one to your ever-growing Cruise whiteboard lol. Peace out.

KJ

I definitely agree what makes the film special is the final con - and we're the marks along with Lonnegan. Redford and Newman's charisma is unmatched. Out of his Directed movies I think most would recommend the criminal investigation thriller 'Quiz Show'.

Bill Bowron

If you’re interested, “Sneakers” is another Redford film that I think you’d really enjoy. It’s an underrated movie, imo, with an all star cast!

KJ

I've always liked that movie. I do think it's become a bit dated regarding internet technologies.

Tim Heron

When Gondorff and Hooker are playing cards, what you thought were matchsticks are cribbage pegs. They're moved along the board in a leapfrog fashion to keep track of the score during gameplay.

M1 Maz

That ending LOL. Here I was thinking I was on top of their plan the whole time, only to realize I knew nothing. Gave me flashbacks to the feeling after finishing The Illusionist haha. This was such a well written, and amazingly acted movie that really made me feel all the twists and turns. The poker scene was so intense! Took me back to some of the crazy poker hands I had to play back in RDR2 trying to 100% the game hahaha I love how much you hyped up this movie at the beginning, with Popcorn in Bed's recommendation, and calling out all the Oscars it had won! I honestly had never heard of this movie prior, so that got me really excited to jump in. Really happy you called the audible and pulled this one into your schedule this week! Really fun movie, and the perfect way to honor Robert Redford

Phil Stubblefield

Kali, now you see why I referred to this film as "quintessential"! The acting is fantastic, the sets are superb, the cons are brilliant, and the biggest con of all is on the viewers! One thing that I love is that the film frequently warns you what's about to happen, but you don't yet understand what you're seeing, so it doesn't spoil the plot. For example, when Hooker was getting ready on the final morning, he tested the fit of the blood capsules that would later create the illusion he had been shot. But if you don't know what they are, then it doesn't spoil the surprise, and it gives you the satisfaction of looking back later and realizing, "Oh, *that's* what he was doing!" Regarding Redford and Newman, at one point you said, "They're both so handsome!" Yes, my friend, even I think they're gorgeous men! 😍 The slang from this era can be confusing. A perfect example is Gondorff telling Hooker about the old days: "Of course, Chicago was a rigged town. The fix was in. The dicks took their end without a beef." That slang would *not* mean the same thing today! Of course, what Gondorff was saying was that all of the games of "chance" in Chicago were rigged, and the police took bribes to look the other way without any fuss. You figured out most of the slang, but here are a few period terms: * To "grift" someone is to run a con on them, and a "grifter" is a con artist. * Near the beginning, they referred to the head mobster, whom we meet later as Doyle Lonnegan, as the "Big Mick," which seemed to confuse you. "Mick" is a pejorative term for Irish, because so many Irish names begin with "Mc". * You figured out that "dick" is slang for a cop, probably just a shortened form of "detective." * "Flatfoot" is another slang term for a cop, stemming from when beat cops used to walk their patrol routes instead of driving them. * Lt. Snyder said he was part of the "bunco squad," which is slang for a police department that handles fraud and related crimes. * "Everything will be Jake." Yup, that's a cool way to say, "Everything will be fine!" * You looked a bit confused in the scene when Hooker and Gondorff first met. Gondorff took a huge chunk of ice out of a box and put in the sink to cool off the tap water. That's how they did it until residential refrigerators became widely available after WW II. And that's why some people call a freezer and "ice box" to this day. A few plot points: Hooker waited so long to tell Gondorff about Lt. Snyder because Gondorff had warned him that they might have to fold the con if there was too much pressure. The reason that Hooker spent the night with Loretta Salino, aside from the obvious, is that he couldn't risk going back to his own place. Remember that Lonnegan's men had already staked it out and tried to kill him there once. I loved your expression at the Salino reveal! It's such a great twist that the audience doesn't see coming. Remember back to when Lonnegan first arrived in Chicago. The first two hitmen, Riley and Cole, had failed to kill Hooker (because he cleverly left a scrap of paper in his door jamb), so Lonnegan gave the contract to "Salino" instead, who was apparently one of his best killers. The underboss warned that Cole might still try to kill Hooker, and Lonnegan replied: "This is Salino's job, Vince. Cole wants to muscle in on it, that's his business, but he's breaking the rules and Salino won't like it." Cole was the guy waiting outside the diner to kill Hooker. He chased him down an alleyway but lost him. When he turned around, he looked surprised and muttered "Salino!" just before she killed him for muscling in on her contract. Remember that she had been in the diner just around the corner, so she obviously followed them to the alleyway. I can't tell if you picked up the subtlety, but "win", "place", and "show" are racing terms meaning to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively. The supposed confusion was that the "inside man" told Lonnegan to "Place it on Lucky Dan..." He meant to bet that Lucky Dan would finish second, but Lonnegan misunderstood (by design, of course) and bet on Lucky Dan to win instead. Your reaction to the big twist was so enjoyable! Your sadness when Gondorff looked at Hooker after the "betrayal". Then the sudden shock and confusion of the double shooting. You even quoted Cassie (from Popcorn in Bed): "Oh, my gosh! He shot him in the back!" And then your gasp of surprise when they turned Hooker's body over to reveal that he was "dead". And then Lonnegan even got away! You chewed your lip and slowly shook your head. Why would such a fun movie end this way? Then your mouth just dropped open as the "FBI" were revealed to be just more grifters! Slowly the scope of the entire con was finally revealed. First, they had taken Lonnegan for half a million dollars, the equivalent of nearly twelve million in today's money. No wonder there was enough to pay all of the crew who had participated! Second, they had ensured that Lonnegan wouldn't come after them because he thought they were *both* dead. And, third, they had gotten Lt. Snyder off of Hooker's case permanently for the same reason. So brilliant! Kali, it's obvious you're ready for more heist films! Your letterboxd page indicates you haven't seen any of the "Oceans" movies, so Oceans 11 (2001) is a great place to go next. You'll love the star-studded cast and the intricacies of the plot! Looking forward to it!

kaliwali

I know I said in the outro I didn't have a 'favorite' between this one and Sundance Kid, but I definitely booted up Butch Cassidy this weekend and soaked in it's amazingness again! 🩷

kaliwali

I haven't seen the Ocean's series yet, but I'll have to watch those eventually! And this one definitely did have you rooting for the crooks haha. And in the end, we all got conned anyways 😅 I need to check out The Color of Money! I'd love to see both Tom Cruise aaand Paul Newman together. Thank you for the recommend!

kaliwali

Thank you so much for this! I feel like I learned a whole new layer of this movie from your breakdown and I love that! This movie was surprisingly super fast paced! So I think it's one of those that really benefit from a second, third, tenth watch for sure. Especially after learning more from this comment about the horse bet lingo lol! Also, definitely guilty as charged saying Redford and Newman are gorgeous! I'll stand by it too haha 👀 You've convinced me that I need more heist films! Richard in the comments also mentioned "Oceans" series so I'll definitely add that one to my series list that I've got cooking. Thank you again for sharing this movie with me! I loved it so much!

Phil Stubblefield

Yes, this movie *definitely benefits from multiple watches! I've probably seen it half a dozen times (although only two in the last year), and I was still piecing things together as I watched. (Like Salino being right around the corner in the diner and so in a position to follow Hooker and Cole into the alley.) Another heist film I forgot to mention is the comedy A Fish Called Wanda (1988), starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and both John Cleese and Michael Palin of Monty Python! It's more of an "after-heist" movie, but I know that you would love it!

Straycat

Awesome that was a lot of fun watching it with you