MovieChat Forums > Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) Discussion > Lawrence and Benson the losers of the be...

Lawrence and Benson the losers of the bet? SPOILERS

posted 17 years ago by berndawg84
3 replies | jump to latest

OK so here's what I don't get. The bet is that one of them has to sleep with Janet. The first time around Benson doesn't sleep with her, so then right away he's the loser and Lawrence is the winner? It doesn't make any sense. Benson just had the failed attempt, but Lawrence didn't even sleep with Janet. So how is Lawrence the winner?

Second, later, Benson DOES sleep with Janet. So then technically he won the bet and Lawrence lost, meaning that Lawrence would have to leave town. But he doesn't leave town. Again, why isn't Lawrence declared the loser? Is the bet voided just because it turned out the Jackal conned them?

Also, how did Janet switch the money with the dirty clothes in the bag. Are we lead to believe that at Lawrence's house or somewhere she went to the bathroom or something and then just switched the money with the cloths?

[–] jimmymanbone 17 years ago

You should probably go back and watch a little more closely.

The bet was that Freddy could sleep with her. Lawrence bet against him and didn't have to sleep with her to win. Freddy never slept with her. She made him take a shower and she robbed him. Technically, Lawrence won the bet. That is why at the very end, Freddy is about to leave the Villa. The Jackal then shows up.

[–] nutsberryfarm 13 years ago

lawrence was just too clever for freddy.

“Can't go wrong with taupe."- Wynn Duffy

[–] cwholdsworth 11 years ago

Also, don't forget that the original bet was that the first person to con her out of $50,000 got to stay and the loser leave town. The bet changed to whether Freddie slept with her or not once Lawrence discovered that Janet was supposedly poor and highly virtuous, which would have gone against his rules for the type of women he conned.