Diggstown (1992)

There are three Con movies I really love. "The Sting", "Paper Moon" and "Midnight Sting (or Diggstown)". I don't bother to compare these three, because each has its own quality. Diggstown's strength lies in the great and obvious chemistry between all the main actors and even the supporting ones. True that Woods steals every scene he is in, but he feels so at home in the skin of Gabriel Caine, that we forgive him just to watch him do his cool one liners and gestures, like opening a bottle of Wild Turkey with his thumb. Oliver Platt gives his performance a full go in all the scenes he is alone. Together with Woods, he steps down a bit. Louis Gosset jr. was never better than in this movie, that is my honest opinion. You really buy his aged but still able boxer, and he trained the choreography well. Dern is juast as a smooth villain we like him to be. Though his role is quite one dimensional, he manages that we feel for him and understand his goals, though we truly loathe him. The story is quite plain but the execution superb. The production design is good. You really believe this to be some backwater city in the equally backwater Olivair County. The only criticism I have to make is the very constructed and thankfully not executed love interest (Heather Graham). Though she looks cute she never got into character. You could cut her role right out of the movie without missing her. Even her only service to the con men, getting the financial info, could easily be done by everyone else.

So all in all, this is a great film to watch, beer in hand and popcorn in a bowl beside you. 8/10 stars

Fmovies: There are very few movies, including most of my all-time favourites, that I can watch more than once a year without getting bored. In fact, "Diggstown" is the only one I can think of. As other IMDb reviewers have pointed out, not a scene or a line is wasted; the movie pulls you forward. It's as much fun as any good "con" movie, but has a lot more to say than "The Sting" (a film that I love) or any other such that I can think of. If the reason for its relative obscurity is the usual one---the studio held focus groups and decided not to put much advertising money behind the film---then I'm baffled.

Do they give Oscars for casting? "Diggstown" deserves one. Gossett and Platt are extraordinary. (Gossett, in my opinion, gives the best performance of his career---high praise indeed.) Woods and Dern, two actors whose work I haven't always been crazy about, are perfect here. It's fast, hilarious (with Gossett getting most of the best lines) and, as The New York Times wrote, "improbable (and) vastly entertaining." Oliver Platt's fleecing of the locals in the bar early on is one of the funniest scenes I know of.

I love introducing friends to "Diggstown." Without exception, their reactions are, "Holy crap! How come I've never heard of this movie??!!" Then they ask to borrow it.

'Diggstown' is An Entertaining Film, that earns itself a viewing, by sheer merit. Also, It's lead-star, the ever-dependable James Woods, delivers an exceptional performance from start to end.

'Diggstown' Synopsis: A charming con man teams up with a boxer fallen on hard times in hopes of making some quick money.

'Diggstown' gets it right, because the humor works & so do the characters. The Boxing Match in the finale, is superb & stands out. Steven McKay's Screenplay is entertaining & well-done. Michael Ritchie's Direction, is good. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are passable.

Performance-Wise: Woods is exceptional, as expected. An Actor who NEVER Disappoints! Louis Gossett, Jr. is very impressive. Bruce Dern is decent. Oliver Platt scores. Heather Graham is her usual self. Others lend support.

On the whole, 'Diggstown' is an entertaining flick, that definitely deserves a watch.

Diggstown fmovies. I find Diggstown to be one of the best movies of all time. My only regret is that I don't have amnesia so that I can go back and experience the ending for the first time again.

I love the background music. Storyline and plot are wonderful. I can watch this movie over and over again. There are at least 50 great quotes that I use on a daily basis. Acting is good throughout. Some of the best acting is by the extras in the background of the bar scenes.

James Wood is terrific, maybe his best role ever. Lou Jr. is very believable as an aging fighter. Bruce Dern plays a scumbag to a tee. Tex Cobb's best role also. Platt is terrific (as he always is). Only disappointments were Heather Graham - She gave a lackluster performance, and Hammerhead - he was way too young, should have been more aged.

At least it has recently appeared on ESPN Classic so it would seem that a cult following may be building for this terrific film. I don't think this one lasted three weeks in the theaters around here, but the first time I saw it on cable, I was hooked. Diggstown is not only a hilarious film, but it's also one of the best "sports" movies I've ever seen.

Our story has a small group of con men led by James Woods who are trying to outwit a corrupt small town kingpin. They bet that "Honey" Roy Palmer (Louis Gossett Jr.) can knock out ten of the town's best boxers in a 24 hour period. Palmer is an outstanding, yet aging talent who "never got his shot". His skills, and the help of some local insiders make Woods and Co think they have a real shot at robbing the town blind. The funny thing is how Bruce Dern, who plays the local kingpin, reacts. He is no fool. He knows that Palmer will be tough to beat, and that Woods is trying to con him. But he has too much pride to pass on the wager. He also thinks the boxing talent in town is certainly good enough to beat a forty-eight year old fighter no matter how good he used to be. You'd think the locals would have the upper hand, but Woods and his people have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve both leading up to and during the matches. Once the wager is agreed to, the film never lets you up for air.

Diggstown is a very funny movie. James Woods could sit down and read the newspaper aloud and it would be entertaining, but here he has a great script to work with. Plenty of one-liners and intelligent dialog are used by everyone. The fight scenes are a considerable cut above any Rocky film ever made. It really looks like people are getting the crap beat out of each other in the ring. The motley crew of locals that Palmer has to fight are a hoot. One of them is even played by The Passion of the Christ's very own Jim Caviezel. He actually makes the mistake of calling Palmer the N-word in the ring. Yikes! There are numerous twists as the conclusion draws near. It becomes a question not of which side has the most endurance, rather which side has the biggest surprises in place to trip up the other. The final twist in one you will absolutely NOT see coming. For great comedy, spectacular fight scenes, and a surprise ending, check out Diggstown. It's a shame more people don't know about this film! 9 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

I like James Woods. Yes he is over the top blah blah blah but he takes risk and among his many bad films there are many good ones. In this movie he is at his best. The veteran actor paired with Louis Gosset Jr. does a great job. Gosset is also great as the overweight but still feisty boxer. The we are to old for this is a subtle joke that runs throughout the movie. The film has good twists and turns and real nasty villain played by Bruce Dern. When you get a few quality professionals as they did in this film you tend to produce a quality product. The script is sound and everyone looks like they had fun making the movie. The film has charisma, atmosphere, and a great deal of whit. In my opinion it is one of the better boxing movies made as well. The Great White Hype is witty but at many times is forced and requires more knowledge of the boxing industry for its jokes. Raging Bull is of course a masterpiece so there is no touching that, but if you are in the mood for a good comedy and just a flat out good movie I recommend it.