Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Rebecca Hall | ... | Beth | |
Joel Murray | ... | Darren | |
Hugo Armstrong | ... | Customer | |
Corbin Bernsen | ... | Jerry | |
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Earl Maddox | ... | Manager |
Rio Hackford | ... | Magic | |
Jo Newman | ... | Darcy | |
Laura Prepon | ... | Holly | |
Bruce Willis | ... | Dink Heimowitz | |
Frank Grillo | ... | Frankie | |
Wayne Pére | ... | Scott (as Wayne Péré) | |
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Adam Kozlowski | ... | Rio Gambler 1 |
Al Brown | ... | Old Gambler | |
Thom Sesma | ... | Young Guy | |
Rusty Meyers | ... | Rio Gambler 2 |
Beth, who lap dances to make ends meet, leaves Florida for Las Vegas hoping to be a cocktail waitress. She meets two women who introduce her to Dink, a gambler with a system. He hires her - she's good with numbers - and she promptly falls for him, even though he's married to a woman who seems to do nothing but spend his money. Beth tries to entice Dink whose wife, Tulip, tells him to choose; he does and promptly goes on a losing streak. The repercussions of his choice play out with a heavy gambler who has a parole officer, a cheesy bookmaker in Curaçao, Beth's desire to keep a friend out of prison, and help from an unlikely source. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Beth (Rebecca Hall) is stripping in private homes to make ends meet. On the advise of motel neighbor Holly (Laura Prepon), she goes to work for bookie Dink (Bruce Willis) and finds that she's actually quite good at it. She's good with numbers. People like dealing with her on the phone. And Dink likes her a lot. The problem is Dink's wife Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones) doesn't want him to like her so much. When Dink starts to lose money, things blow up.
When you consider the talents in front of and behind the camera, it's a wonder how things could go so wrong. Award winning director Stephen Frears is the biggest culprit. The script may need better jokes, but it's mainly Frears who couldn't extract any laughs from this. In the end, this is mostly his responsibility.
Rebecca Hall is doing a squeaky-voice fast-talking bobble head doll. It's completely fake, and leaves my head shaking. It doesn't fit her at all. If her mannerisms are meant to be funny, it got no laughs from me. Everybody else is doing a competent if not very impressive work. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bruce Willis could have been an explosive couple but they're not. The only interesting acting comes from Vince Vaughn who plays a wildman bookie.
Not much goes right in this movie. It is absolutely not funny. It is watchable, but afterward I wonder why I watched it.