“Playing the big con is like putting on a play where everyone knows their parts except for the mark,” Jake Vig (Edward Burns) explains to us in voice-over of “Confidence.” What he forgets to mention is the importance of having the right plan in place, which this film doesn’t have.

What director James Foley ends up with is a bunch of movie stars turned loose on a script that reflects nothing but a lukewarm interpretation of every other caper flick, and lets them bounce off each other like so many billiard balls.

When we first meet Jake, a dangerous hit man is about to execute him. The movie is told in flashback as Jake relates his previous, disastrous three weeks.

Jake’s problems started when his team of drifters (Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt and Louis Lombardi), aided by their paid-off, undercover cops (Donal Logue and Luis GuzmCB!n), accidentally pulled a con on a guy who works for a particularly ornery mob boss aptly nicknamed the King (Dustin Hoffman).

Smacking gum so loudly and obnoxiously that you’ll want to yell at him to cut it out, Hoffman chews up the scenery as well as the gum, playing the infamous King, a guy you cross at your own peril.

In order to square his transgression, Jake agrees to play a dangerous con on King’s rival, Morgan Price (Robert Forster). To complete his team, Jake recruits and trains a beautiful and sexy pickpocket named Lily (Rachel Weisz).

Along the way, the team runs into a brick wall in the form of a federal agent, played with charm by Andy Garcia. Following the story is like chasing Pac-Man back and forth across the screen. You get kind of dizzy, even if you are having fun.

If you are looking for a low-rent version of “Oceans 11” this film is for you. Otherwise, go to the video store and rent “The Usual Suspects” or “Nine Queens” to see what a finely tuned caper film is all about.

“Confidence” is rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity and opened in theaters everywhere last Friday.