Rounders (1998) Review

It can be hard to balance life with the needs and wants. But when you find something you’re good at, don’t let it make or break the future.


PLOT


1998’s Rounders follows Mike McDermott, a law student in New York that is a talented poker player and aspires competing in the World Series of Poker. That dream is crushed when losing $30,000 to Russian mobster Teddy KGB in a Texas Hold’em game. The heartbreak causes him to vow not playing again and do part time work with his mentor Joey Knish to get by. As months go by, he stays true to his promise to his girlfriend Jo who also goes to the same law school as him. That starts to change when his childhood friend Lester Murphy aka Worm gets released from prison after distributing stolen credit cards; Although being an honest player, Worm hustles and cheats. Slowly, he would help him pay off some debt by setting him up with games across town, but that affects his studies and his relationship with Jo to the point that she moves out. When he later allows him to play at the Chesterfield Club, he cashes out $10,000 and starts a tab under his name. Worm later runs into an old flame named Grama, a pimp who now works for KGB and demands his overall $25,000 debt plus interest to be paid in full. He takes the 10 and expects the rest to be paid off soon. After Petra from the Chesterfield tells Mike he owes $7,000 in debt, Worm admits how much else he owes Grama too. He then decides to vouch for him and plan to make the remaining 15 within five days. The two make $7,200 in three days, but need to make more than double to pay off everyone. That gets ruined when Worm gets caught base dealing in a game hosted by state troopers who take their money as punishment. Knowing Grama works for KGB, he asks Knish for a loan, but refuses out of principle. This leads to him sharing how he once beat legendary player Johnny Chan at a single hand that makes him believe he can win the World Series of Poker, defending his poor decisions as well as his past risk with KGB. He does get a loan from his professor, Judge Abe Petrovsky, and challenges KGB in a Texas Hold’em rematch. He does reach $20,000 in the first game, but chooses to keep playing when his rival taunts him. Spotting his tell each time he grabs an Oreo cookie, he’s able to defeat him with a nut straight. Disappointed, KGB respects the game and chooses to pay him his winnings that turn out to be over $60,000. Mike uses all that money to pay off all his and Worm’s debts, as well as restore the bankroll he lost. The film ends with him saying goodbye to Jo as he drops out of law school and heads to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker.


THOUGHTS


I hardly watch sports to begin with, so I knew poker was a world I would be unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, it did feel like Director John Dahl and writers David Levien & Brian Koppelman are able to pull those unfamiliar into something that can be extraordinary in one way or another. I mean Scott Chestnut is able to edit the games smartly to know who’s winning. This is the kind of game where your brain is your greatest weapon because you got to analyze people to a tea in order to make the best move that can better future chances, which is the gist. If you can’t pull that off, the game ain’t for you especially the underground aspect of it. Rewatching it for the first time, I think the reason this movie ages well post poker boom is because it’s the kind of tale that says to remember your hobbies/passions are for fun instead of protect, but also how you always gotta confront your problems once consequences kick in. If you keep choosing to avoid these things, then you’re not gonna be pleased with what future can come from it. This is what you pick up on when following Matt Damon as Mike. This is the kind of role where he knows he’s good at poker and calls it luck rather than skill in order to minimize bragging about it. When going in overconfident just once, it blew up big time and put him in an existential crisis on if he was ever meant to be part of that world in the first place. When it came to Gretchen Mol, she didn’t want to portray as Jo as one hateful towards what made him happy, but she wanted to express concern because she didn’t want him to be in financial trouble again. The fact he couldn’t help himself and had to hide it from her proved they weren’t meant to be. If he wasn’t gonna change for her, then it was safe for her to cut the loss rather than stay in a circle of dissatisfaction. At the very least, Mike got to make amends with her before moving on with his life, whether or not they’ll actually keep in touch. The only reason he really got his groove back was because he had to help an old friend and cut ties sooner than later, as his time with Worm proved he needed to surround himself with a better inner circle. Edward Norton does a great job showing Worm as one who can’t help living up to the name because his thrill is being reckless, going against what people ask from him. The fact he can’t listen to Mike knowing he’s the only willing to help proves their friendship was never meant to last, which is why it was more of a mission than a good deed to get each debt paid off. Looking back, I definitely think Famke Janssen was her own standout as Petra for being quite guarded in the world she’s composed with and when she made advances on Mike, it’s obvious she was into his brain just like Jo was. Mike turns her down because it felt wrong for him to move on so fast and respected Jo too much to do so, but I for one would not do the same because I wouldn’t depend on false hope expecting to be forgiven so soon. Moving on, I did respect John Turturro being an ideal mentor as Knish because he was the more disciplined one who better understood the easy way out is never meant to make legit accomplishments, hence not giving Mike a loan when he needed it most. Martin Landau then brightens the room as Petrovsky because his generosity towards him reminds him of his youth and he sees how much poker means to him, that he belongs there more than the eyes of the law. Last but not least, Mike’s motivation to redeem himself came from crossing enemies he wasn’t prepared for the way he thought he was. Michael Rispoli does get the point across that Grama is a more ruthless criminal the way Worm self destructive, it’s really John Malkovich that sells it best at being the central protagonist. Whether or not you think his Russian accent is authentic, Teddy KGB is a role he owns because he owns it in being bizarre with his arrogance, which he deserves to be since he is too is good at the game. Had Mike not figured out his tell in the rematch, he would’ve been all the more mentally dominant of an antagonist. Rather than over-complain, he accepts defeat and moves on. Now that Mike is able to pick up where he left off and I wouldn’t doubt him winning the whole World Series down the line because if he can beat Johnny Chan, he can do anything he wants with his set mind. This movie is very fun to watch in more ways than one, but there are still some things to scratch my head about upon rewatching. Like it’s an interesting payoff Mike figures out in the climax that Teddy has a tell whenever he has a cookie, but how did he not notice this before the opening? Mike was a regular before playing with him and knows how skilled he is, so should’ve read the tell much sooner. Why was he even hiding all the money before losing to him anyway? Jo was only disgruntled of his hobby after he lost all of it, so it doesn’t exactly add up for him to be secretive when there wasn’t a reason to yet. While I understand why Jo would give him a hard time to read other judges’ cards, but calling out others’ cards is not playing a whole game so that’s an overprotective reaction on her end. It wasn’t like he knew he was gonna have a conversation about poker by the time he stopped by. Hell, it’s even crazy he didn’t even hear her open the bathroom door while he’s showering. I know conflict is abound for her to find out he’s playing again, but he ain’t even trying to keep his guard up from the one person who dislikes his passion. Also, I don’t even get why didn’t Petra waits so long to tell Mike that Worm owes her money. If Mike knew that was gonna happen, he should’ve narrated how predictable his friend is. I then get so annoyed of Worm talking about how much money left to make while getting a shave at the barbershop. Barbershops may be safe havens, but it’s not like other customers around them wouldn’t mug them. Ignore these things, then you’ll still enjoy Rounders as a drama that had a fresh set of stakes in such an underrated sports drama. Poker fan or not, this movie is totally worthwhile.