Rounders John Malkovich Poker
By JANET MASLIN
hough John Dahl's 'Rounders' finally adds up to less than meets the eye, what does meet the eye (and ear) is mischievously entertaining. Inspired by Martin Scorsese's brand of lowlife and aided by a splendid rogues' gallery of a cast, the director of 'The Last Seduction' takes his audience behind closed doors and into the world of high-stakes poker, a demimonde captured with abundant local color. With settings that range from an Elks' hall in Binghamton, New York to a yuppie cigar bar to Russian Turkish Baths, Dahl's film has character in oversupply even if its actual characters are sometimes thin. Poker fever makes up for whatever the story lacks in everyday emotions.
Rounders John Malkovich Poker Show
What’s exciting about Rounders 2 is the changes that’ll be made to the upcoming film. As Harvey Weinstein told Deadline Hollywood, the movie is set to take on a more international feel “where you start the card game in Paris.” He also added that they need a new supervillain to replace John Malkovich. Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) lost money in poker game with the gangster Teddy “KGB” (John Malkovich). Rounders Teddy KGB Very Aggri-Aysive shirt. Under the pressure of his girlfriend, Jo (Gretchen Mol), he promised to give up gambling.
John Clifford/ Miramax Films | |
| Bluffers: From left, Edward Norton, Matt Damon and John Turturro in 'Rounders,' directed by John Dahl. |
To keep him on the straight and narrow, Mike has a night job delivering beverages and a clean-cut girlfriend from law school (Gretchen Mol, who enjoyed a lot more exposure on a recent Vanity Fair cover than she does in this minor, one-note role). Naturally, they're no match for the poker addiction that Dahl seems to find as enticing as the characters do. Though the film has routine daytime scenes, it truly lives by night in a world of glamorous shadows, smoldering colors and secret thrills. None of those thrills is sexual, incidentally, since these gamblers live in a realm where a pair of aces beats a seductive babe every time. Famke Janssen slinks through the film as what would be an attractive alternative to card-playing in any other story.
Mike's fate is pretty much sealed by the reappearance of Worm (the wildly changeable, always startling Edward Norton), a fast-talking card shark who lives up to his name. As in 'Mean Streets,' here comes the grinning, reckless childhood friend who becomes an instant problem for his more upstanding pal. But whatever Mike and Worm lack in conceptual novelty, they become seductively good company as they share a series of shrewd late-night poker scams.
Also especially good are John Turturro as the story's savviest gambler and Michael Rispoli as a loan shark named Grama despite decidedly ungrandmotherly demeanor. Martin Landau plays a judge, and so does Vernon E. Jordan Jr. In a film whose casually malevolent look recalls 'The Last Seduction,' Jean Yves Escoffier contributes deep-hued, evocative cinematography to the overall dark allure.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
'ROUNDERS'
Directed by John Dahl; written by David Levien and Brian Koppelman; director of photography, Jean Yves Escoffier; edited by Scott Chestnut; music by Christopher Young; production designer, Rob Pearson; produced by Joel Stillerman and Ted Demme; released by Miramax Films. Running time: 120 minutes. This film is rated R. It includes profanity, brief partial nudity and suggestive situations. It includes threats of violence without more than momentary gore, and a menacing quality achieved the old-fashioned way: without need of guns.
With: Matt Damon (Mike McDermott), Edward Norton (Worm), John Turturro (Joey Knish), Famke Janssen (Petra), Gretchen Mol (Jo), John Malkovich (Teddy KGB) and Martin Landau (Professor Petrovsky).
Jason Bourne is opening soon so thank goodness Matt Damon is taking the opportunity to bust out an impression of John Malkovich in Rounders, the poker movie they starred in together that came out 18 years ago.
Rounders John Malkovich Poker Games
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Damon talks about what it was like shooting with the actor. In the film, Damon plays a total good guy with a gambling addiction who loses a ridiculous amount of cash to the Russian gangster Teddy KGB, played by John Malkovich with a luxuriously overstated Russian accent. Apparently the transformation was way too abrupt for Damon’s standards, and Malkovich’s scene work really stuck with him.
Rounders John Malkovich Poker
Watch Damon’s impression of John Malkovich’s impression of a Russian guy below. Damon even does Malkovich’s ridiculous head movements from his portrayal of a subterranean overlord who is great at playing cards.