THE AISLE SEAT

Rounders: No Gamble Here

by Bryan Powers

G21 Film Reviewer

Event #136: THE RIGHT COAST EDITION: "Toto, I'm afraid we're back in Kansas again..." DAY ONE: TODAY: NATHAN BLACK sees "Dissolution of Political Bands." THE AISLE SEAT: BRYAN POWERS looks at the new film, "ROUNDERS." QUEER PLANET: PHIL MARTIN takes a Cruise with the Straights... POWERSSOUND: BOB POWERS on new CD's from LISA GRAHAM, "GUITAR PETE" BRASINO, JAKE HANNA. DON'T READ ME FIRST! Our Publisher reports on his hejira to the Right Coast and writers he met along the way. ON DRUGS: ADAM SMITH looks at the case of Oklahoma's Will Foster. YOUR VOX POPULI is updated with a slough of reader e-mails and the G-Spot responses. PLANETARY MADNESS: JENNIFER BLUE has your weekly horoscope on deck. LAST WEEK's EDITION For rapid response, use The Message Board The Main Event HOME

NEW YORK CITY - John Dahl's previous film's, "The Last Seduction" and Red Rock West," were deliciously deviant tales of human nature gone bad. His newest, "Rounders," travels a safer road that may be a little less intriguing, but is no less stylish or entertaining. Dahl plays his cards carefully with his first major Hollywood directing project by letting the charismatic actors take the film's focus and by not overwhelming the audience with excessive plot or character detail. The result is a film that may not stick with you much longer than it takes you to exit the theatre, but is adequately entertaining while you are there.

Welcome to the world of poker. Young, charming Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) is on his way to being the king of the game, paying his way through law school in the big apple with his winnings, until he loses it all in one night. A year later, Mike has sworn off card games and has a girlfriend who wouldn't be happy if he returned to his poker ways. Enter Worm, Mike's old card-playing buddy. He's fresh out of jail, where he has refined his poker skills, and he's itching to get back in the action. Worm woos Mike back into the thrill of the game. Mike loses his girlfriend. This bothers Mike for a second. But his buddy needs his help to pay off an old gambling debt so Mike and Worm spend the next several days playing every card game in the state where they attempt to take every sucker for every penny. It is after all, according to them, "Immoral to let a sucker keep his money."

Just how will this all end? David Levien and Brian Koppelman's script for "Rounders" has few surprises. The plot twists are slight and mostly predictable. The character development is shoddy. Somehow this doesn't matter. Dahl keeps the action moving with enough flair and pizzazz that you either fail to notice or just don't care about what is missing.

There are messages to be had in this film though and it isn't hard to spot them. Damon's Mike makes sure we hear them in his sometimes irritating narration. Never trust a film with a constant voice-over. It is usually a cop- out for a director and/or screenwriter who can't tell the story by simply using his actors and the dialogue. That is occasionally true of "Rounders." When the narration does work, it's as a way of getting into the mind of our hero during his card games. For those of us with little knowledge of poker, it's in these scenes that the narration keeps the proceedings interesting. The moral of the story, "we don't choose our fate, it chooses us," is not groundbreaking.

This is not a groundbreaking film. It is a film that serves its purpose though. It entertains. It could not have done this without a first-rate cast. Damon is the heart of "Rounders." With his charismatic smile, and "aw-shucks" demeanor, Damon is easy to root for. His range as an actor has yet to be displayed, but Damon seems to be emulating Tom Hanks, not Gary Oldman or Daniel Day-Lewis.

As Worm, Edward Norton gets the juicier role. The character's name speaks for itself. Playing a selfish, irresponsible scoundrel, Norton seems to be having a jolly ol' time.

The rest of the respectable cast is regulated to near cameos in roles that never quite come into the center of "Rounders" plot. This is unfortunate since the supporting cast includes three of today's most gifted actors; John Turturro, Martin Landau, and John Malkovich. Vanity Fair cover girl and film newcomer, Gretchen Mol gets the thankless role of Damon's girlfriend. She's never able to steal the spotlight from him. But Famke Janssen, in an even smaller role, manages to divert your eyes from the pretty-boy hero. Reminding one of a young Angelica Houston, only gorgeous, Janssen heats up the screen every time she appears. Too bad she hasn't much to do.

Grade: B for breezy, easy and entertaining.

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