Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000)

Four friends steal a valuable statuette for a dangerous black market art dealer, lose it and are forced to play a deadly bluffing game to save their lives.

Director:

Paul Rachman

Writers:

Shawn David Thompson, William Quist

Stars:

Olivia Williams, Balthazar Getty, Arly Jover

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olivia Williams	...	Audrey
Balthazar Getty	...	Julian
Arly Jover	...	Maria
Jason Cairns	...	Oscar
Ruben Moreno	...	Priest
Daniel London	...	Kevin
Stacy Edwards	...	Holly
Steve Jones	...	Tom (as Stephen Phillip Jones)
George Lazenby	...	Carlo
John Taylor	...	Dick (as John Nigel Taylor)
Tim Curry	...	Felix
Octavia Spencer	...	Waitress (as Octavia L. Spencer)
Ray Berrios	...	House Security Guard
Peter Mark Vasquez	...	Data Security Guard
Ramiro Fabian	...	Supervisor

Storyline

A group of best friends and amateur thieves steal a valuable statuette for a ruthless black market art dealer. After the thieves botch the delivery of the objet d'art, the art dealer forces them to 'find' $1 million by the end of the week or face certain death. The desperate friends concoct a plan whereby each of them takes out a $1 million life insurance policy on themselves. Consequently, if one of the friends die, the others will collect on the policy and pay off the dangerous art dealer. The thieves then enter into a lethal lottery to choose who will be the victim and who will be the killer.

---

Plot Keywords:

friend | black market | game | acting musician | postcard | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug use and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

6 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

4 Dogs Playing Poker

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Half Moon Entertainment, New Moon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 89 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Early in the movie when Audrey is punching in the code for the art room, she is told the last two digits were 2 and 7. She clearly doesn't type those numbers, it looks like she enters 9 and 8.

---

Crazy Credits

Daniel London in the role of Kevin is listed twice in the closing credits.

---

Soundtracks

"Priority"
Written by Brian Tyler
Courtesy of Tippecanoe Music Publishing, BMI

User Reviews

No ace, more a joker.

A stylish thriller, with one major let-down: the whole premise is just so unbelievable that you really need to be able to suspend your disbelief for this one.

Four young art thieves, and their mentor (a surprisingly good, but underused Tim Curry), steal a priceless statue from an Argentinian millionaire, (a surprisingly good, but underused ex-James Bond, George Lazenby!) and ship it back to the States on a cargo ship. Recipient of the said statue hears that it isn't on the ship, and promises to kill all five if it isn't delivered - or make them pay $1 million. So, what would you do? Wait and see if it turns up, do a runner and leave the country? Or build up some elaborate insurance scam whereby one of you has to kill another one, so the rest of the gang can claim $1 million insurance? They opt for the latter, and all reality goes out of the window. It's a shame, because the four 'friends' are good together, and there are some genuine thrilling moments. Its pretensions to film noir are justified an only a few occasions, and the 'twist' ending doesn't really make up for the plotholes.

That said, certainly worth a look.