They, JANET MASLIN, Say
Knowing When to Hold 'em and Fold 'em but Just Not When to Run
Though John Dahl's ''Rounders'' finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining. Inspired by Martin Scorsese's brand of lowlife and aided by a splendid rogues' gallery of a cast, the director of ''The Last Seduction'' takes his audience behind closed doors and into the world of high-stakes poker, a demimonde captured with abundant local color. With settings that range from an Elks hall in Binghamton to a yuppie cigar bar to Russian Turkish Baths, Mr. Dahl's film has character in oversupply even if its actual characters are sometimes thin. Poker fever makes up for whatever the story lacks in everyday emotions.
In yet another role cast before ''Good Will Hunting'' dealt him a winning hand, Matt Damon plays a clean-cut law student with a naughty secret: he's capable of betting his tuition on an all-night game of Texas Hold 'Em with a Russian gambling kingpin. (John Malkovich has a field day with this role, with a vowel-bending accent that turns ''O.K.'' into a drawling ''Ak-yay.'') As written by David Levien and Brian Koppelman with a keener ear for gambling jargon than story trajectory, ''Rounders'' finds Mr. Damon's Mike McDermott determined to resist poker, and then, not too surprisingly, starts breaking down his resolve.
To keep him on the straight and narrow, Mike has a night job delivering beverages and a clean-cut girlfriend from law school (Gretchen Mol, who enjoyed a lot more exposure on a recent Vanity Fair cover than she does in this minor, one-note role). Naturally, they're no match for the poker addiction that Mr. Dahl seems to find as enticing as the characters do. Though the film has routine daytime scenes, it truly lives by night in a world of glamorous shadows, smoldering colors and secret thrills. None of those thrills are sexual, incidentally, since these gamblers live in a realm where a pair of aces beats a seductive babe every time. Famke Janssen slinks through the film as what would be an attractive alternative to card-playing in any other story. Mike's fate is pretty much sealed by the reappearance of Worm (the wildly changeable, always startling Edward Norton), a fast-talking card shark who lives up to his name. As in ''Mean Streets,'' here comes the grinning, reckless childhood friend who becomes an instant problem for his more upstanding pal. Whatever Mike and Worm lack in conceptual novelty, they become seductively good company as they share a series of shrewd late-night poker scams. Also especially good are John Turturro as the story's savviest gambler and Michael Rispoli as a loan shark named Grama despite decidedly ungrandmotherly demeanor. Martin Landau plays a judge, and so does Vernon E. Jordan Jr. In a film whose casually malevolent look recalls ''The Last Seduction,'' Jean-Yves Escoffier contributes deep-hued, evocative cinematography to the overall dark allure.
''Rounders'' is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It includes profanity, brief partial nudity and suggestive situations. It includes threats of violence without more than momentary gore and a menacing quality achieved the old-fashioned way: without need of guns. http://www.nytimes.com
We, Poker and Life, Say,
This was my introduction to the world of poker. Before this movie I did not even now what holdem was. I did not rush out and start playing poker the next day but I did take a closer look at the poker room the next time I was in the casino.
I am sure that if you have found this poker page you have seen the movie Rounders but just in case you have not I will say, "Watch it!" It will not make you a super poker player but it will let you know that it is normal to have a few bad beats at the poker table and in life.
One thing that I do find amazing about this movie is that it was such a great hit and that was before poker started growing at the rapid pace it is today. I feel that if, poker had been growing in 1989 like it is today it would have been "Rounders" not ''Good Will Hunting'' that dealt him (Matt Damon) a winning hand".
In a few days or weeks from now all the information you want about other great poker movies like
- Loaded Pistols Gun Smoke
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
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The Cincinnati Kid
- Casino
- Kaleidoscope
- Luckytown
- Sink or Swim
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