Tribulations of the Shortcut Man

Likable L.A. lowlifes and conniving Hollywood has-beens populate Sturges’s entertaining sequel to 2011’s Shortcut Man. It’s all in a day’s work for vigilante-for-hire Dick Henry when he arranges for Harry Glidden, a judge turned TV personality, to get a painting forged to pass to his spiteful ex-wife as part of her divorce settlement. Things get complicated, though, after Dick finds out that Harry and his actress girlfriend are involved in a scheme to force their rich friend, 74-year-old Art Lewis, into a sham marriage so they can steal his millions. This means the ouster of Art’s current girlfriend, 32-year-old ex-ecdysiast Pussy Grace. That Pussy is an intimate of Dick’s helps fuel his efforts to expose Glidden’s scam, which lead to a cascade of amusing misdemeanors, mistaken identities, and ill-timed deaths worthy of a screwball comedy by Preston Sturges (not coincidentally the author’s father). Light on logic but full of laughs, this exercise in smart-aleck noir should have wide appeal. (Feb.)