The Winner (1996)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Alex Cox

Writers:

Wendy Riss (screenplay)
Wendy Riss (play)

Release Date:

25 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

When it is discovered that a man is having luck in the casinos in Las Vegas, people start attempting to take his money.

Plot Keywords:

Luck | Casino | Las Vegas | Las Vegas Nevada | Nevada

Cast

Rebecca De Mornay	...	Louise (as Rebecca DeMornay)
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Philip
Richard Edson	...	Frankie
Saverio Guerra	...	Paulie
Delroy Lindo	...	Kingman
Michael Madsen	...	Wolf
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jack
Frank Whaley	...	Joey
Luis Contreras	...	Guy in Couple
Ed Pansullo	...	Man with Broken Arm
Sy Richardson	...	Bartender
Craig Vincent	...	Man
Biff Yeager	...	Philip's Father
Del Zamora	...	Cellmate
Roger Jennings	...	Croupier

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, along with some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

Argentina:91 min | UK:89 min | USA:92 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Mark Damon Productions (MDP Worldwide)

Soundtrack:

Fun with Ruth

A Bad Script Turns 'Winner' Into 'Loser'

Yes, I agree with people here; this is a "coulda, woulda, shoulda" film. It could have been better and should have been.....but it's horrible, an absolute stinker.

I liked the premise but the story turned out stupid. The comedy was lame and the characters - all of them - were so sleazy and unlikable, how could you like the film?

After watching three years of Vincent D'Onofrio play the soft-spoken, super-intelligent "Det. Robert Goren: on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, I am amazed to look back at this film resume. Prior to that, he played almost nothing but despicable, demented characters. The rest of the cast in here wasn't shocking, either, as they have done similar work. They all can act, though. I'm speaking of fairly big "name" actors in this film: D'Onofrio, Rebecca De Mornay, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Madsen and Delroy Lindro.

But, it's hard to overcome a very bad script and lame one-liners that were supposed to be funny. Now I am more familiar with these actors than I was a dozen years ago, this might be better or at least interesting. Yet, I can't help but think a script that features nothing but unlikeable and sleazy characters is usually going to fall short

It's too bad, because I like stories centered in Las Vegas and gambling and this cast certainly is interesting.....but the story was anything but that. Maybe it's the director: his hits, "Sid And Nancy" and "Repo Man" also were way too sordid for me.