Film

Fun with Dick and Jane

Name: Fun with Dick and Jane
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 1977
Cast: George Segal, Jane Fonda, Ed McMahon, Richard Gautier, Allan Miller

Other titles called Fun with Dick and Jane: the 2005 film.

A 1977 comedy about a married couple who turn to armed robbery when unemployment and debt spiral out of control. It's a satirical romp through American middle-class anxiety, mixing slapstick with genuine social critique. Funny, slightly anarchic, and surprisingly sympathetic to its criminals.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy sharp, cynical satire of middle-class aspiration, where the jokes come from people trying hard and failing with dignity, and a caper that never quite takes itself seriously.

Skip it if the satire is broad and of its era, so if you need modern sharpness or a tightly plotted thriller, the comedy may feel thin and the pace easygoing.

What it asks of you: It runs ninety-five minutes and stays light on its feet, asking for easy attention rather than close tracking, with a comic tone that shifts between farce and mild bitterness.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Nine to Five1980

Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin fantasize about revenge against their sexist boss in a sharp comedy about workplace injustice. Same era, same star, same willingness to make the system the villain.

But The fantasy sequences feel dated now, and the resolution is almost too tidy for the anger it builds.

The Italian Job1969

A heist film that treats theft as fun, stylish, and fundamentally about outsmarting authority. Same playful approach to crime as Dick and Jane, just with better cars and British accents.

But The plotting can be confusing, and the ending famously doesn't resolve anything—intentionally, but it's frustrating.

Shampoo1975

Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in a satirical Los Angeles comedy about materialism and shallow ambition. Same satirical bite about American excess, same 1970s moment, similar blend of comedy and social commentary.

But It's more cynical than fun, and the pacing meanders. Some find it pretentious rather than sharp.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Fun with Dick and Jane

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Rififi1955

Both treat theft as a working-class response to a rigged system; both find comedy in the ordinariness of the criminals rather than their skill.

A French heist film where an ordinary working man and his crew rob a jewelry store. It invented the template for fun heist films—the mix of humor, meticulous planning, and sympathy for criminals. Dick and Jane is spiritual descendant.

But Shot in 1955 and in French, it's bleak in tone and has a fatalistic ending. Also includes a 30-minute heist sequence with no dialogue, which some find tedious.

Going Places1974

Two petty criminals drift through France stealing cars and seducing women in a film that finds dark comedy in aimlessness and desperation. Captures that same tone of ordinary people pushed into crime by circumstance.

But It's a French film with a very different moral sensibility—darker, less optimistic, and genuinely unsettling at times.

Foul Play1978

Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn stumble into crime and conspiracy in a comedy that shares Dick and Jane's pleasure in ordinary people in over their heads. Bright, goofy, pure entertainment.

But It's much gentler and sillier, with none of the bite. If you want substance, look elsewhere.

The Thomas Crown Affair1968

Steve McQueen as a bored millionaire who steals paintings for kicks. A sleek, stylish take on crime as rebellion, with that same underlying question: why do we work?

But Glacially paced and more about mood than plot. The heist itself is secondary to watching handsome people be sophisticated.

Bonnie and Clyde1967

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as bank robbers on a spree during the Depression. The DNA of every sympathetic-criminal comedy that followed, including this one. Essential reference point.

But It's violent in ways that can feel jarring if you're expecting comedy. The tonal shifts are deliberate but sometimes clash.

Support Your Local Sheriff!1969

James Garner in a western comedy that gently mocks law and order. Same affectionate irreverence toward authority and institutions that makes Dick and Jane tick.

But The humor is broad and the plot is slight. If you prefer wit to slapstick, this won't land.

Melvin and Howard1980

Paul Le Mat and Jason Robards in a small-scale comedy about a nobody who claims to be heir to a fortune. A quieter take on American desperation and unlikely crime, with real warmth underneath.

But It's deliberately unglamorous and slow. Some viewers find it too modest and understated to engage with.

The Marrying Man1991

Both center on couples held together by chaos and bad decisions rather than sense. Marriage as co-conspiracy against the world.

A screwball comedy about economic chaos and relationship survival starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. It's a desperate, messy update of the same marriage-under-pressure theme, just with 1990s excess instead of 1970s anxiety.

But It's a notorious box-office bomb. The script is scattered, the tone lurches wildly, and it feels like several different films spliced together badly.

Thieves Like Us1974

Both use period crime as a lens to examine economic powerlessness; both argue their criminals are victims first.

Robert Altman's Depression-era film about bank robbers in love, shot in a fractured, deadpan style. It's about desperation and escape, using 1930s America to ask the same questions Dick and Jane raises: what else can ordinary people do?

But It's melancholic and deliberately unglamorous. The Altman style—overlapping dialogue, detached camera—takes adjustment. Not funny, despite the tragic comedy of the situation.