Rounders (film)

Plot

Gifted poker player and law student Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) dreams of playing in the World Series of Poker and sitting next to his idol Johnny Chan. Unfortunately, Mike loses his entire $30,000 bankroll after being outplayed in a hand of Texas hold'em against Teddy "KGB" (John Malkovich), a Russian mobster who runs an underground poker room. Shaken, Mike decides to concentrate on law school and promises his girlfriend and fellow law student Jo (Gretchen Mol) that he will no longer play poker. Mentor and fellow rounder Joey Knish (John Turturro) offers McDermott a part-time job driving a delivery truck to make ends meet.

Mike focuses on school and work until his childhood friend Lester "Worm" Murphy (Edward Norton) is released from prison. While Mike is a card player, Worm is a hustler who often cheats to win. He also owes an outstanding debt incurred before his incarceration. In childhood, Worm never squealed on Mike so he feels indebted to him. Mike takes Worm under his wing after being released from prison. Worm's old business partner, Grama, has now partnered with Teddy KGB and bought up his outstanding debt. At Worm's influence, Mike is soon again rounding which is interfering with his studies and hurts his relationship with Jo.

Worm is given five days to clear his debt. He wants to cheat to do it but Mike insists on winning it straight at several card games around New York City. They make nearly $15,000. Mike goes with Worm to an out-of-town game hosted by New York State Troopers where Worm is caught "base-dealing". They both get beaten up and their bankroll is taken. Worm decides to bail on Mike.

Mike decides to deal with his situation in New York City. A $10,000 loan from his law school professor Petrovsky (Martin Landau) is the stake for Mike to challenge Teddy KGB to a second game of heads-up, No-Limit Texas Hold'em. Mike beats Teddy in the first session. There is enough money to pay off Worm's debt and half of the $10,000 loan. As he is about to leave, KGB taunts Mike, and points out that only part of the $30,000 that Mike has lost has been recovered.

Mike hesitates; then agrees to return to play. At risk is all of the money, and possibly his life, as losing would leave him unable to pay Grama and KGB. As the night wears on, Mike is on the verge of losing all of his chips. Mike suddenly spots a tell, a repeated behavior that allows him to know the value of Teddy's hand. Teddy KGB is furious when he realizes this, and goes on "tilt", meaning he is playing very poorly. This lack of focus allows Mike to outplay Teddy.

Mike settles Worm's debt, repays the $10,000 loan from his law professor, and restores his original bankroll of "three stacks of high society." Mike drops out of law school, says goodbye to Jo, and is on his way to Las Vegas with dreams of winning the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Cast

Filming

Principal photography for Rounders began in December 1997; it took place mostly in New York. Exceptions include the law school scenes (filmed at Rutgers School of Law-Newark) and the State Trooper poker game and parking lot scenes (filmed at the B.P.O Elks Lodge in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey).

Box office

Rounders was released on September 11, 1998, in 2,176 theaters and grossed $8.5 million during its opening weekend. It went on to make $22.9 million domestically.

Critical response

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and wrote: "Rounders sometimes has a noir look but it never has a noir feel, because it's not about losers (or at least it doesn't admit it is). It's essentially a sports picture, in which the talented hero wins, loses, faces disaster, and then is paired off one last time against the champ." In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote: "Though John Dahl's Rounders finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining." USA Today gave the film three out of four stars and wrote: "The card playing is well-staged, and even those who don't know a Texas hold-'em ('the Cadillac of poker') from a Texas hoedown will get a vicarious charge out of the action." Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "Norton, cast in what might have once been the Sean Penn role (hideous shirts, screw-you attitude), gives Worm a shifty, amphetamine soul and a pleasing alacrity ... Norton's performance never really goes anywhere, but that's okay, since the story is just an excuse to lead the characters from one poker table to the next."

Peter Travers, in his review for Rolling Stone said of John Malkovich's performance: "Of course, no one could guess the extent to which Malkovich is now capable of chewing scenery. He surpasses even his eyeballrolling as Cyrus the Virus in Con Air. Munching Oreo cookies, splashing the pot with chips (a poker no-no) and speaking with a Russian accent that defies deciphering ("Ho-kay, Meester sum of a beech"), Malkovich soars so far over the top, he's passing Pluto." In his review for the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle said of Damon's performance: "Mike should supply the drive the film otherwise lacks, and Damon doesn't. We might believe he can play cards, but we don't believe he needs to do it, in the way, say, that the 12-year-old Mozart needed to write symphonies. He's not consumed with genius. He's a nice guy with a skill." In his review for the Globe and Mail, Liam Lacey wrote: "The main problem with Rounders is that the movie never quite knows what it is about: What is the moral ante?"

Despite an unremarkable theatrical release, Rounders has a following, particularly among poker enthusiasts.

There are pro poker players who credit the film for getting them into the game. The film drew in successful players such as Brian Rast, Hevad Khan, Gavin Griffin and Dutch Boyd. Vanessa Rousso has said of the film's influence: "There have been lots of movies that have included poker, but only Rounders really captures the energy and tension in the game. And that's why it stands as the best poker movie ever made."