Rounders (2004, DVD)

There is no doubt that poker is experiencing a huge renaissance. ESPN just finished up with its 2004 World Series Of Poker coverage and the Travel Channel s World Poker Tour will be starting their third season soon. Both Bravo and Fox Sports have their own poker shows as well. With the star power of Matt Damon and Ed Norton and the focus of a growing sport, there is no doubt that if Rounders was released today, it would be a huge hit. Unfortunately, it was released about five years too early, which is unusual because Hollywood usually follows the trends rather than creating them. Regardless, Rounders is fun, entertaining, sad and accurate all in one. It's probably the best poker film I have ever seen.

The focus of the movie is on childhood friends Mike (Matt Damon) and Worm (Ed Norton). The film begins as Mike is going to make a run. Unfortunately, he loses a huge hand and drops his entire bankroll. As a result, he gives up the game of poker to concentrate on law school. Soon after, Worm is released from jail and his debts still need to be paid. Worm owes plenty of people money and he is looking for the quick and crooked score.

Worm tries to enlist Mike s help to generate some cash to pay off his debts. Problems arise because of the difference in playing styles. Mike likes to play the games honestly, while Worm likes to take advantage of the situation by cheating other players. Initially Mike helps Worm in a couple of games. These are "trust fund" and "country club" games. They don't have to worry about their reputation because they are in and then out quickly. Worm soon begins to play with and destroy Mike's good name, along with his money. Quickly, he racks up more debt and digs a deeper hole for both he and Mike. Soon, they have to go for the big score and this backfires big time and causes some problems for both characters. How each of them deals with the situations shows you the character of both people and helps lead to an exhilarating poker confrontation scene between Mike and Teddy KGB (John Malkovich).

The cast of Rounders features some of the best young actors working today as well as some wonderful veterans. Ed Norton plays the jerk/criminal role better than anyone right now and the character of Worm is the perfect vehicle. He cannot understand where Mike is coming from and his only motivation is to make money the easiest way he knows how---cheating other people. Matt Damon is great as the good guy with a bit of a dark side. He tries to make it in the real world via law school, but quickly learns that you can t change who you are and he s a poker player.

The supporting performances are every bit as good as the lead roles. John Malkovich is fabulous, as always, in his role as the Russian mobster, Teddy KGB. He can chew the scenery with the best of them and he s a delight when on the screen. John Turturro is always good and his role as Joey Knish is a subtle performance that hits a home run. He is what's known as a rounder (you knew it meant something). He grinds out a living playing poker. As a result, he has tremendous experience in the world of poker. He lets Mike in on much of his wisdom in a fatherly sort of way. Eventually, like all fathers, he has to let Mike go. Mike's other father figure is Abe Petrovsky (Martin Landau). Petrovksy is Mike's law professor. He soon realizes that Mike isn't a lawyer, but a poker player and his own personal story clues Mike into the same thing. It's another reserved, yet powerful performance by Landau. Gretchen Mol's role as Mike's girlfriend is the one throw away role, but she plays it well. She s struggling with her love, but releases that a relationship with Mike is never going to work.

Many other of the supporting actors turn in top-notch performances. Famke Janssen rounds out the cast as the sultry Petra. She runs a poker room and has her sites set on a vulnerable Mike. Also, be sure to look for Goran Visnjic (ER) in one of his first American roles as a connected Russian mobster and fledgling poker player.

The best part of Rounders is that the game of focus is Texas Hold'em. Most people think that seven-card stud or other games are the so-called "money" games in Las Vegas. That's just not the case. Hold'em is the Cadillac of poker. In reality, it's No Limit Hold'em that brings out the best poker players in the world. Mike alludes to this in the movie and he is right. Even if you're not a fan of poker or don't know the ins and outs of the game, that shouldn't be a reason to not watch Rounders. Much of the jargon is assumed, but much of the strategy is explained and I don't think you'll get lost. The story and the relationships are just as important as the game and the ending is both happy and sad which makes it a better film.

While the popularity of poker has dramatically increased since the release of Rounders, The Mirage is no longer the mecca for poker. The poker action in Las Vegas has left The Mirage and moved to its sister casino, Bellagio. Don't get me wrong, you can still find good games at The Mirage, but the big time action has moved to Bellagio.

Whether it was the producer s idea or the studio s, there has finally been a Collectors Edition of Rounders released. While either a marketing ploy for the holiday shopping season or to capitalize on the recent poker boom, I was happy to pick up the new version. There are plenty of extras; some are great, some are average and others are a waste of time.

I ll start with the bad extras first: Heads Up Texas Hold em and Championship Poker Tips. Heads Up Texas Hold em is a poorly designed poker tutorial and hand simulator. It is trying to be a video game, but fails at that goal. Championship Poker Tips probably sounded like a good idea, but the execution turned out to be rather poor. It features four professional poker players, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker and Chris Jesus Ferguson sharing their poker tips. However, the menu is difficult to navigate through and the tips are very basic and in many cases useless.

The average extras are the Behind The Scenes Special, which features very short interviews with Damon, Norton, Malkovich, and director John Dahl, that all have an Entertainment Tonight feel and the Professional Poker feature. It takes a look at poker with many of the pros and analyzes many aspects of poker like luck vs. skill and amateurs vs. pros. There is also a short discussion about Damon and Norton s entrance into the World Series Of Poker in 1998.

There are two great extras in this Collectors Edition of Rounders and they are both of the included commentaries. The first one features Chan, Hellmuth, Moneymaker and Ferguson discussing the movie and sharing their poker stories. There are some extended periods of silence but when they finally talk, the stories are incredibly interesting. Chan and Hellmuth offer the most to the commentary as poker players and Moneymaker s thoughts are more as a poker fan than a player. For those that follow poker closely, you ll again hear the complete arrogance that Hellmuth exudes. The second track features Norton, Dahl and writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman. They all offer some great stories from the making of the film and the process by which it was made. Part of the commentary does fall into the mutual admiration society which they point out. The scary thing is how intelligent Norton sounds. In fact, he may be too intelligent at times. I can only imagine what a chore it would be to direct his type of genius.

Overall, I would highly recommend Rounders to anyone who plays poker on a regular basis, or even a couple of times a year. It's an entertaining film with a great cast and a good story. Those who don't play poker but like an entertaining film with deep characters and good acting should also check it out.