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| Rounders (1998)
 
Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, Martin Landau Director: John Dahl Rating: R Category: Drama  |
In the late 90's, Miramax secured a reputation for taking chances on a number of great films (like the 1996 comedy "Swingers"), but they never achieved much at the box office. A majority of these films went on to become video store cult hits, and earned the well-oiled Weinstein team a vast amount of money and respect. One of these films was the character-drama "Rounders," which not only featured a fantastic cast made up of hot shot up-and-comers and talented veterans, but also documented the very first step towards unleashing the poker explosion that's currently sweeping the nation.
"Rounders" takes an inside look at the world of high-stakes gambling, but mainly focuses on Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), a New York law student with a natural talent for a good hand and the ability to read virtually any opponent. Mike is a rounder, which is to say that he is a player who makes his rounds playing poker professionally. After dropping $30,000 in one night to local poker thug Teddy KGB (the delectable John Malkovich), Mike turns away from the game forever to focus on his studies, much to the approval of his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol), who goes ape shit when she discovers that he gambled away all of his tuition money.
Mike stays clean for nine months, working a dead-end job just to pay off his school loans, when his best friend Worm (Edward Norton) is released from prison with a big gambling debt to his name. While Worm also shares a talent for cards, he continuously gets himself into trouble by cheating at the game. Mike takes a stake in the debt, consequently putting his own head on the chopping block, and quickly makes his way back to the card table. After discovering that Teddy KGB has bought out the debt and has started the clock on the payment, Mike has to play the game better than he ever has before in order to meet the 48-hour deadline.
This is essentially where most women don't understand the film. No matter how good of a friend Mike is, the foolish Worm always finds a way to make the situation worse. While it's heartbreaking to watch Worm go through these random beatdowns, with Mike dutifully accepting his share of the bruises, you've got to wonder why an outstanding card player like Mike is still hanging out with this loser? And there's only one reason: friendship. These guys go way back to high school, where Worm took all of the heat from a poker game gone wrong. Accordingly, Worm was handed a one-way bus pass to the slammer, and Mike was given the opportunity to move on to bigger and better things. In a sense, Mike owes him big, and this is the way he delivers on his own debts.
Women will never fully understand the concept of brotherhood, just like most men will never fully understand "Sex and the City," but it's these fully flushed-out characters that makes "Rounders" such an enjoyable film. David Levin and Brian Koppelman's sharp script flows with enough poker mechanics and casino slang to justify its authenticity, but without the stand-alone performances from Damon and Norton, the film wouldn't be such a success. Much like the aforementioned "Swingers" and the recently released "Sideways," "Rounders" is a classic buddy film that deserves a spot in any man's film collection.
DVD Review:
The more recent Special Edition release of the film isn't nearly as great as it
probably sounds, but there are some definite pluses to replacing your old copy
of the film with this updated DVD. Along with two behind-the-scenes featurettes,
a heads up Texas Hold 'Em game, and tips from past World Series of Poker
champions, the single-disc DVD offers two full-length audio commentary tracks.
These two tracks are the bread and butter of the special features section,
including a decent commentary with director John Dahl, writers David Levin and
Brian Koppelman, and actor Ed Norton, and a second track featuring four of the
most popular poker pros in the business: Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan (who's also
featured in the film), Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and Chris Moneymaker. While it's
interesting to listen to these guys talk about the pros and cons behind specific
decisions that are made in the film, it would have been incredibly quiet with
Phil Hellmuth in the room. Regardless of how much I hate watching Phil at the
poker table (he's a baby, don't ask), Mr. Hellmuth saves the day by contributing
plenty of valid points to the discussion, and also making sure that none of the
other guys stay quiet for very long. If you're a fan of the film, this is a must
buy, despite already owning the film on VHS or the original DVD release. That's
what trade-in stores are for.
~Jason Zingale
jzingale@bullz-eye.com