From Marty Supreme to California Schemin': Into the Scammer Cinematic Universe

Cinema is full of unusual trends, but the latest one I’ve noticed is especially weird. In the past few months, we have had not one, not two, but three movies about scammers. 

While scamming is a pretty common plot point in movies, the thing that sets California Schemin’, Marty Supreme, and Roofman apart is that they’re all based on true stories. And the good news about these three stranger-than-fiction tales is that they’re all very entertaining.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that these movies all came out within months of each other, but why are we, as the audience, really eating these movies up? Let’s try to find out…

Charisma Is Essential to Making Us Love Scammers in Cinema

These three movies are underpinned by the most essential quality of a scammer: charisma. Silver-tongued Marty Mouser (Timothee Chalamet) can talk his way in (or out) of pretty much every situation; Billy Boyd (Samuel Bottomley) and Gavin Bain (Séamus McLean Ross) showcase their natural talent for rapping in a more so-called palatable way by pretending to be American, and Jeffery Manchester (Channing Tatum) becomes the pillar of the very community he has robbed from in the past.

While we, the audience, know who Jeffrey, Billy, and Gavin really are behind their respective facades, their level of charisma means that it’s very easy to get caught up in their lies. Perhaps it is because the movies tell their stories from their point of view, or because the actors play the roles so convincingly. Whatever the case, I end up so charmed that I almost find myself rooting for them, even though I know objectively that they’re in the wrong. 

That being said, I struggle to muster any empathy for Marty because, while he is also incredibly charismatic, his actions are arguably hurting more people than Jeffrey, Billy, and Gavin’s are. Like the other movies, the story is told from the main character’s point of view, but arguably, there is less of an empathetic lens to the filmmaking.

Ambition and Consequences Ultimately Sell a Scamming Story

Additionally, Marty, Billy, and Gavin are alike in the sense that they’re incredibly ambitious. Marty wants to bring ping pong to America, while Billy and Gavin want to make it in the music industry. In a way, both of these films are ‘underdog’ stories, but only in the sense that these men definitely perceive themselves as underdogs who are owed success, which drives them to try and seek this success by any means possible, even if it means breaking the rules. 

As for Jeffery, the opposite is true — despite his penchant for robbery and living on roofs, he just wants that simple, white-picket fence, wholesome family life. However, he remains like the others in two ways: firstly, he is desperate to preserve this life by any means necessary, and secondly, he feels entitled to this life.

Ironically, despite being the least likeable, Marty ends up being the only person to actually somewhat achieve their goal. Although he doesn’t end up competing in the World Championship, he can fairly beat Endo. He doesn’t evade all consequences, but for the most part, he makes it out of his situation unscathed and ends up embracing his role as a father. But his match against Endo does force us to see him for what he is: someone who is actually kind of pathetic. So, while he might not objectively face many consequences, our view of him has altered. 

By contrast, Billy, Gavin, and Jeffrey end up being exposed and facing the consequences of their own scams. The two movies make it clear that their exposure is inevitable, so when it finally happens, it isn’t much of a surprise. However, instead of feeling the sense of self-righteous schadenfreude like I was expecting to, I actually ended up feeling sorry for them. And I think I know why.

Fundamentally, these characters are flawed and have a pretty shaky grasp on morality. Despite that, we can’t help but be drawn to them, even if, as is the case with Marty, they aren’t particularly likeable. I think this is because we end up, in a sense, getting scammed, too. We end up almost buying into their delusions of grandeur, and when these delusions are laid bare, we are forced to rethink our own investment in these characters and their schemes.

These films aren’t exactly designed to be moral fables, but they do encourage us to question our own values, which, in my opinion, is something all good movies should do.