Niceguy Review of The Thomas Crown Affair

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

Ah, to be filthy rich, and still feel the urge to steal...

[24 July 1999]

Pierce Brosnan plays Thomas Crown, one of the most smug rich guys you've ever seen in this romantic drama. I attended a sneak preview of The Thomas Crown Affair along with a sold-out crowd, and I'm not sure anyone really knew quite what to expect. I knew this was a remake, and that Pierce was gonna steal something, but aside from that the film was still a mystery to me. Turns out the plot is that rich boy Thomas, who happens to be an avid art collector, decides to steal a $100,000,000 Monet painting from a large New York museum. Although he gets away with it, an insurance investigator played by Rene Russo shows up to hunt down the missing piece, and quickly realizes that Mr. Crown is to blame. Now while she should be working with the New York cops, led here by Denis Leary of all people, she instead pursues Crown independently, and of course falls in love with him. A similar plot was tried earlier this year with the rather bland Entrapment. But where Connery fell flat, Brosnan excels, at least through the aspect of being convincing in his role. Russo also does a good job with her character, and sets a record for showing off her breasts in a film. Denis Leary on the other hand feels somewhat out of place, especially since he's not sporadically cussing and smoking like a chimney. While the events here are entertaining, some of the romantic scenes go on just a bit long, leaving us to wonder if everyone has forgotten all about why they're here to begin with. Unfortunately there aren't many surprises in this film, in fact you could probably guess the outcome of just about every scene. I long for the day when the female law enforcement officer actually arrests the man she's pursuing, at least it would make for a bit of a different story. I never saw the original, so I can't really compare the two, but for the most part I enjoyed this film, even if it made me realize just how far away I am from living the "good" life. While Brosnan's smug character doesn't offer many socially redeeming qualities, you can't help but want to live the way he does, even if just for a day.