Diggstown (1992)

Simply A Masterpiece

Absolutely the worst movie.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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

The cast of the movie is really great, and they're given some good dialogue. The only problem is that it quickly becomes clear James Woods, as the lovable-rogue con man, is all lovable and not much of a rogue; while Bruce Dern, as the evil mayor of Diggstown, is all evil. You know there are going to be some twists along the way to the end, but one sort of twist gets ruled out fairly quickly, namely, the kind where you find out you may have been rooting for the wrong party.The movie involves a series of boxing matches, and all kinds of surprises can arise involving the details of each matchup. But I didn't find them too surprising; at the end you feel kind of deflated, asking, Isn't there one more twist coming? Louis Gossett, Jr., as the boxer, isn't given much to do. Heather Graham is given almost nothing to do. She looks great; in her later movies she looks like an anorexic. Oliver Platt's part is completely routine as Woods's sidekick.

One night, years ago now, I stumbled across this movie on Sky (known as Midnight Sting in the UK) With a fine cast including James Woods, Bruce Dern, Heather Graham and Oliver Platt, I had stumbled onto a really good movie.James Woods is a con man who with the help of his partner (Oliver Platt) sets up a fight between his age old friend Honey Roy Palmer, an ageing but very accomplished boxer and any 10 Diggstown men (a small out of the way boxing loving town, controlled by Bruce Dern) The con is on, Woods and Dern set the wheels in motion on this exhibition of boxing, and as the stakes get higher you will find yourself engaged by the tension of the event. Who is hustling who? And why? I am amazed at how few people seem to have seen this movie. So if you fancy a film, with a some good laughs, a clever story, a fine cast and a cracking ending. Then give it a try, yes there are better films, but there are far more that are worse.8/10 Go and rent yourself a copy

*SPOILERS CONTAINED* When I first saw Diggstown about 10 years ago I thought it was awesome. Diggstown is a movie about a huge con that, with a little luck and some great conning, works perfectly for Gabriel Caine(woods) and co.This movie has pretty much everything; Action, laughs, inspiration, and of course Motivation. And how could you not cheer when Caine gives the thumbs down sign to Minoso Torres. Great movie. 5 out of 5 stars!