Rounders (1998) * * * 1/2

Directed by:  John Dahl

Starring:  Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Gretchen Mol, John Turturro, John Malkovich


Mike McDermott is a smart young man with a love for poker.    No matter how seedy the venues or how much danger is involved, he is looking for the game which will win him enough cash to pay for the World Series of Poker entry fee.     As Rounders opens, Mike is oh-so close to realizing his dream when he loses everything to Russian mobster Teddy KGB (Malkovich) on a hand with dueling full houses.   He then retires from poker at the behest of his girlfriend Jo (Mol) and concentrates on law school.    We all know he won't be appearing in too many courtrooms, especially as his friend Worm (Norton) is released from prison and looking for a card game.

Worm is the friend Mike always felt the need to look out for.    This gets Mike into serious trouble with gangsters as Worm's debts pile up and then he starts trading on Mike's good name.    Worm refuses to play games straight, always looking for an angle or a way to cheat.    In one instance, this gets Mike and Worm beaten by cops who catch on while playing at a local FOP game.     Soon enough, the two are in $15,000 to Teddy KGB and we all know that Mike is headed for another poker showdown with KGB.

Rounders is a smart film which is wise about poker and the seedy underworld Mike and Worm inhabit.    The club KGB operates from is realistically unwelcome and depressing.   Why anyone hangs out there is a mystery, but I guess that's the price one pays for hanging out with the Teddy KGB's of the world.     It's tough not to like the performances, although Mol's is a one-note character.    Her job is to look judgmentally at Mike as he shows up late to mock trials and warn him about getting back into poker.    Damon is intelligent, knowing, and ultimately sucked in one too many times by Worm.   Worm as played by Norton is a slimy loser who knows how to push Mike's buttons and falls back on the belief that Mike will always bail him out.   He senses Mike's pity for him and plays to it without worrying about the danger he puts them in.  

Teddy KGB is played by John Malkovich in hammy fashion with a thick Russian accent.    However, it's a lot of fun watching Malkovich bombastically splash the pot and needle Mike with thinly-veiled insults about his play.    "Ok, meester son-of-bitch, let's play some cards, " says Teddy KGB in said Russian accent and you can't up but smile at Malkovich upping the energy during the final game.    In contrast, Turturro as Joey Knish, a player who grinds out a living playing poker, is cool and plays it close to the vest.   He feels sorry for Mike, but understands all too well that Mike has risked it all and will likely risk it all again. 

The best parts of Rounders involve the poker playing and their intrinsic suspense.    Worm adds to the suspense by trying to cheat to gain the edge, while Mike wants to win straight up.    He believes his skills can match up with anyone's and when he tells Knish about how he played one-on-one with World Champion Johnny Chan, you sense that he is probably right.    He may get to play him again if he survives KGB, which is the likely outcome considering the remote chance that he would lose a second showdown.