Ever wondered how a film can ignite a pop-culture phenomenon? 'Rounders' did just that for poker, and Jesse and Jason dissect this seminal movie's impact on the felt and beyond. We dive into the world of high-stakes poker, the unforgettable lines delivered by Edward Norton and John Malkovich, and the quirky behind-the-scenes moments that made this movie a cult classic. And while we're at it, we don't skirt around the less-than-stellar portrayal of female characters like Gretchen Moll's Jo, a stark reminder of an issue that persists in cinema.
Picture this: a bar night gone awry thanks to one man's jukebox obsession, and then imagine that jukebox is the poker table of life—this is the kind of storytelling you're in for. Jesse and Jason share their own brushes with poker, inspired by Matt Damon's underrated performance and the game-changing introduction of the card camera in televised poker. But it's not all laughs and nostalgia; the darker crevices of the gambling world come to light as we discuss the movie's depiction of debt, risk, and the thrill of the game.
Finally, what's a conversation about 'Rounders' without debating the metaphorical implications of poker in our daily decisions? We examine the tension between fate and free will as showcased through the film's characters and their tumultuous lives. Whether it's an innocent game of Uno or a high-stakes hand at the Taj Mahal, the episode is a full house of insights, critiques, and perhaps a few life lessons tucked in between the laughs. So, ante up and tune in for an episode that deals with much more than just cards.
Send us an email about the movie or the next. werecommendmailbag@gmail.com
Follow us on social or listen on a different platform by following the link.
http://linktr.ee/werecommendpodcast
Music produced by Joey Prosser. @mrjoeyprosser
Ever wondered how a film can ignite a pop-culture phenomenon? 'Rounders' did just that for poker, and Jesse and Jason dissect this seminal movie's impact on the felt and beyond. We dive into the world of high-stakes poker, the unforgettable lines delivered by Edward Norton and John Malkovich, and the quirky behind-the-scenes moments that made this movie a cult classic. And while we're at it, we don't skirt around the less-than-stellar portrayal of female characters like Gretchen Moll's Jo, a stark reminder of an issue that persists in cinema.
Picture this: a bar night gone awry thanks to one man's jukebox obsession, and then imagine that jukebox is the poker table of life—this is the kind of storytelling you're in for. Jesse and Jason share their own brushes with poker, inspired by Matt Damon's underrated performance and the game-changing introduction of the card camera in televised poker. But it's not all laughs and nostalgia; the darker crevices of the gambling world come to light as we discuss the movie's depiction of debt, risk, and the thrill of the game.
Finally, what's a conversation about 'Rounders' without debating the metaphorical implications of poker in our daily decisions? We examine the tension between fate and free will as showcased through the film's characters and their tumultuous lives. Whether it's an innocent game of Uno or a high-stakes hand at the Taj Mahal, the episode is a full house of insights, critiques, and perhaps a few life lessons tucked in between the laughs. So, ante up and tune in for an episode that deals with much more than just cards.
Send us an email about the movie or the next. werecommendmailbag@gmail.com
Follow us on social or listen on a different platform by following the link.
http://linktr.ee/werecommendpodcast
Music produced by Joey Prosser. @mrjoeyprosser
Hello and welcome to the we Recommend Podcast, a movie podcast where every week we recommend a movie for you to watch and then come back here and listen to us discuss. I'm Jesse and I'm Jason. If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker Because this week we recommend rounders.
Jason:I was the sucker. Yeah, I don't think a lot of people watch this for the sucker.
Jesse:Yeah.
Jason:And you just like immediately help me mad thing Right, make me better.
Jesse:Yeah, because the very first time I watched this, you know I played very minimal amount of poker in like junior, high and high school, so I knew nothing about it. Yes, completely confused, like most of the things that they're talking about poker. I don't know what this means. It makes you get interested, but I was just engrossed in the film though. It's like I don't know what this what they're talking about, but I love it.
Jason:Yeah, this movie was amazing. It came out right. I think it was right as the World Series of Poker was getting kind of started, kind of a little bit before actually. Before.
Jesse:Yeah, I know it really hit in the 2000s because everybody, every douchey guy that you knew, were like y'all want to play poker with their sunglasses upside down and have a little hat like as far down as possible. Dude, you don't know what you're doing.
Jason:You can't see my eyes though You're in junior high or high school.
Jesse:What do you think? Are you a professional poker player over here?
Jason:It's ridiculous.
Jesse:Yes, you are, as soon as you put on the gear, right. I was never good at it. No, I wasn't. I was good against people that didn't know how to play it, which is great, but I was good If you sit there for like eight hours.
Jason:That was okay. Yeah, I could just fold a lot.
Jesse:At the end, everybody, just everybody, just didn't know what they're doing. So we all just kept losing, back and forth.
Jason:Yeah, you just wait until everyone else loses the more, and then you swoop in and get second place.
Jesse:Get like super lucky one round. That'd be about it for me. Yeah, I played a lot Like I had like a PlayStation two game that had poker and I played that a lot. Like Red Dead Redemption, I also played it in the Red Dead Redemption as well. But yeah, I was never a super big cards guy. What I do like is actually people that can do card tricks. I know I go into that Like when worm is handing out cards and he deals from the bottom.
Jesse:I'm like, is he actually doing it or is he not? Is he actually doing it or is he not?
Jason:And then I think more than more than playing poker, which I'd also did after watching this and I was a huge my Damon fan also at the time. But after I think this is the first movie or I really became a big Edward Norton fan and I really wanted to learn how to cheat a card and not get my ass kicked.
Jesse:So I never actually tried it. Yeah, so we'll talk about the cast a little bit. It stars Matt Damon as Mike, but in my notes I kept Matt. I kept accidentally putting Matt instead of Mike in my notes and I got through the end of the whole film after doing notes and I was like I did all the wrong. In this Edward Norton plays worm. We've Gretchen Moll who plays Joe the just. You know, a classic character. That is this. Oh, we got a woman in the movie and she's a girlfriend. Let's make sure she sucks, even though she's the most normal person probably in the entire movie he's the most normal.
Jason:I would say, yeah, it sucks.
Jesse:This is like movies like this is have a terrible time around female characters. It's awful. Then you got John Malkovich. It's Teddy KGB. Yeah, he's great, he's terrible.
Jason:He's terrible at accents, for sure.
Jesse:God dude, I don't even know how you act. I don't even know how you've been a scene with him. I don't know you son of beach, I know I think he's funny to watch. It's insane.
Jason:You know he's bad, but you're watching him like You're like five star performance, wow, great. Good job at being terrible. You crushed the movie.
Jesse:Then you got John Titoro. It's Joey Kanish yeah, he's great, love John Titoro. Then Martin Landau as Abe, the Dean for the school, michael Raspoli as grandma Raspoli, and the film is directed by John Dahl, which I haven't ever watched anything that he's done other than this. I'm trying to think what else he did, and a bunch of stuff. I don't know, so never mind.
Jason:Sweet, let's play some fucking cards yeah.
Jesse:God, this movie is kind of really quotable.
Jason:I think that quote about being the sucker that's one of the best like intro.
Jesse:If you can't spot the sucker. Yeah, that's a great opening narration, so I don't really have too many facts. There just wasn't really a lot. I listened to a couple of interviews with Matt Damon.
Jason:That's where I got most of these. Matt Damon.
Jesse:World police, matt Damon. Matt Damon, it's a cute son of a bitch. You did it. So Warren was originally supposed to smoke, but because Edward Norton was an avid non-smoker, they changed his character where he didn't smoke.
Jason:That was so funny though.
Jesse:Yeah, I was like I liked that about before I knew that fact is like oh, what a weird, like character trait they decided to do. And I was like oh, now it makes sense.
Jason:But I really like how it worked. I don't know how he just threw away all the cigarettes, tosses all those guys cigarettes away, no. They're like why can't you just give them back?
Jesse:So when it comes to John Malkovich's accent, I got a little bit about that. So Matt Damon said in an interview this was like where I heard it was the Bill Simmons podcast he said in an interview that getting John Malkovich was a big deal for the film, so much that on the first take John Malkovich did a very cartoonish and over the top performance, at the end of which the whole crew applauded and praised him for how brilliant it was. He didn't try, At which point Matt Damon looked. John Malkovich looked at John Malkovich very confused. John Malkovich, seeing him looking confused, leaned over and said I'm a terrible actor.
Jason:I don't know why they hired me.
Jesse:Matt Damon said John Malkovich was trying to show him that if you get to that point where no one gives you a straight answer, it's very dangerous. But it's like, well, how much more cartoonish was it? So, from what I learned, john Malkovich had this Russian actress say all of his lines in a tape recorder and he would just walk around listening to how she said it and just mimicked it.
Jason:Well, I mean that's smart, that's the easy way to do it, yeah.
Jesse:Maybe an acting coach or something like that would have been better. Yes, because it didn't work. I just thought.
Jason:It's bad, that's great.
Jesse:So I watched a little the review from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. So the two critics, they both love the film. But Siskel, he was like a actual card player. He knew how to play Texas Hold'em and he said that. He called out the film's reliance on Matt Damon's character and the fact that all of his game essentially was put on him. Being able to tell what the poker players are doing instead of reading playing the cards, said that it was done and it was too unbelievably done, especially in the settings that he was.
Jason:Yeah, it was a little fantastical.
Jesse:And he's like dude, this guy's a superhero. At this point, you get to see everything.
Jason:Yeah, and it's the height of Matt Damon's career, I guess.
Jesse:That would be. It's just I love it. I'm like, yeah, of course, if you're going to show me a movie, show me the best guy at this. Don't show me like someone boring at playing that's his thing.
Jason:You don't have someone who's always. I don't know. If he was that good, he'd be in the World Series of Poker.
Jesse:Right, exactly, but he's just a rounder. Like he can put. Yeah, exactly which. For anyone who doesn't know, a rounder is someone that makes all like makes a living off playing cards, like they don't usually. It's essentially what Joey Kanish. That's what he does. He doesn't do any other jobs, he just plays poker and I guess he has a delivery truck.
Jason:Have you ever played cards in a, in a, like a setting where you had to like buy it, like pay, like a not professional like Vega? I don't know. Okay, I've never been to Vegas, but I have played cards in different places when you had to gamble, yeah, where you actually had to pay money like up front and like you know I would be too scared.
Jesse:Yeah, I was like we'll play for pennies, say what Not everybody's there to have fun?
Jason:Yeah, I was like I'm going to be a douche.
Jesse:Yeah, and it went to help you and intimidate you yes, intimidation.
Jason:I was playing. I went to a bar in Nashville and I was playing and this guy I was. There's some terrible music playing on the jukebox so I got up and I put a coin in my song. Never played, cause immediately afterwards I put, after I put in my money. I never. The guy came up behind me put in like $10. Apparently he had been doing this before we even got there and he put it on the same song on repeat for the entire. He paid enough money to play the same terrible song all night long.
Jason:That's what he probably didn't make any money because he's been to all the jukebox, I don't know. I was like this sucks and I'm out. I want to have fun. Yeah, this is what I had. Fun it was. I mean, I fucking remember the name of the band, it was like, who can say what?
Jesse:Only time? I don't know it was just like that.
Jason:But it was that one song it's super annoying.
Jesse:Yes, wow, what a douche. Awful. Just like have fun, dude, just play some cards. So Matt Damon and Edward Norton. They played the $10,000 buy-in Texas Hold'em no Limit Championship event at the 1998 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. During the first four days, matt Damon had pocket kings and was knocked out by former world champion and poker legend Doyle Brunson, who held pocket aces. Brunson Brunson yeah, oh, I don't really know any of them.
Jason:I tell you what when they added that the card camera, that was amazing yeah, like when you can see what they had.
Jesse:Yeah, because they put it on their chest right. So what I don't know. It was like a button camera and they put it towards. Every time they flip the cards, you can see their cards.
Jesse:I have no idea where they put it Beautiful. This was great. So in the novelization of the film In the book, yeah, it was written very differently. As Michael did get to Las Vegas and began a winning career as a poker player. However, he and Joe never got back together. In fact, joe sent Michael a wedding invitation to her own wedding, to which Michael was not too keen on going to Sick burn Right, and Worm's resolution was also mentioned in that. Michael never saw him again because he probably got himself killed.
Jason:Yeah, most likely Worm sucks yeah.
Jesse:He's a sleaze. I hate the old guy. Love him and hate him.
Jason:He's definitely the funniest part of the movie. Yeah, he's the funniest. I think Ed Norton did an incredible job being a total sleazeball. Yeah, he's so good, he's like oh, the character's name is Worm.
Jesse:I got this.
Jason:I know exactly how to play. This character Woke up as Worm today.
Jesse:Right. So what's your favorite Matt Damon movies?
Jason:I mean at this. So when this came out, it was a goodwill hunting, of course, and a talented Mr Ripley Love talented. Love both of those, and then there's this one After that, like that's really like the trifecta that are my favorite.
Jesse:I guess for me. I love the Martian Martian was pretty cool.
Jason:He just didn't lie at all. He wasn't a claimant.
Jesse:He's great at playing kind of a douchebag, which is what he did all through the 90s Until. Like this movie, he was always in school ties, or school days is one of those, whatever it's called School ties.
Jason:Yeah, yeah, he's like an evil person.
Jesse:He's kind of evil and talented, mr Ripley, and I don't know I could always like someone who was.
Jason:he was like he's got the baby face. Yeah, and, but he's also got that like the like Cheshire cat grin.
Jesse:Yeah, exactly, I think it's insane that, like in the 90s, you had all these actors going out for like the same parts Ben Affleck, matt Damon, edward Norton, brad Pitt, leo I think Leo got a little, was a little too famous. He's probably just immediately already just getting roles and not having to audition. But it's like just imagine walking to a room and you just see like Ben Affleck, matt Damon.
Jason:Edward Norton just all ready to like audition.
Jesse:What? This is insane. We can't make a bad decision Definitely make it yeah. Cause I was listening to an interview with Matt Damon and he's just like I'd always walk in and it'd be the same people Like dang it. They're all ways more talented than me.
Jason:Are you sure you didn't just say yeah, right, and?
Jesse:everybody like dude. You have to say something else. We know your name.
Jason:So you're ready to hop in the film.
Jesse:Yeah, so the film opens with Mike sneaking out of his house and kissing his girlfriend. He's grabbing money from different places. That's cool, I know. I wish I had money hidden around it's like. Did he just not want his girlfriend to find it? Or?
Jason:it's like I think it's Rob, it's part of that and, like people in his profession, get robbed a lot I feel. I feel like they get shaken down quite a bit.
Jesse:You're playing like against a lot of shady people. Yes, the underground criminal poker world.
Jason:It seems later that there's.
Jesse:They're a really tight knit group, but it just seems like there's just one little section of Russians that might steal your stuff. We see that he's going to a Russian underground poker place. It's run by Teddy KGB, with the best accent in the game.
Jason:I love it.
Jesse:I like the way he eats Oreos yeah.
Jason:He really goes through all the senses he like, listens to them.
Jesse:Which is something I'm about to say is a flaw of the movie. So he's going to bet all of his $30,000 that he got. While going to his table he runs into Gnish. He's a rounder, he's just. He's telling him don't do it, it's stupid to bet all your money. It's like I know you want to go to Vegas, but this is not the place to do this. He makes a. We learned that Gnish makes living playing cards. He tries to convince Mike not to risk it all, but Mike isn't having it. So they're playing Texas. Hold them, no limit. He says the key to the game is to play the player, not the cards, and that's what he does. But we get to Mike while playing gets into a betting war with KGB. I love how they always love and poker. When they play with the chips and poker movies. I love it. I don't know, it's just. You just know that it's like oh yeah, we got to be cool with our chips. Let's just throw them, let's stack them.
Jason:Cause in afterwards you got to stack them all up again and that takes so much time. It's like poker takes so much time anyway. Yeah, why would you want to make?
Jesse:it make take more time. It's like one hand can just be like 10 minutes. Let's go.
Jason:Um, but when we count all 300 of these chips?
Jesse:right.
Jason:Cause you scattered them around like an asshole.
Jesse:Yeah, it's like thanks KGB. So during the betting war, kgb against KGB does not go well and you lose everything. You have. Kgb he does. He picks up the Oreo, he looks at it, he like pulls it apart and listens to it and eats it. Okay so if Matt Damon is the king of spotting people's tails, this is the most obvious tail Anyone has ever done.
Jason:I think, I think at this point he's really desperate.
Jesse:Yeah, I think he's nervous and he's not paying attention, maybe, but at that point, when he does that and then eats it, it's like that seems to be something. Yeah.
Jason:It's definitely something that's weird.
Jesse:It's like how did you not see that? Yeah, when you, this is your thing. Yeah, and it's like a guy specifically, you stop and watch him eat an Oreo and the weirdest man possible. But I do love this because when it cuts the Damon's face he has a great look where it's like I just lost everything. Yeah.
Jason:Completely crushed, yeah, when you think you've won and you really haven't, yeah, oh man, that is like crushing.
Jesse:Because he had like two aces and sevens he had he had a.
Jason:He had an ace and a nine and he had full house nine aces or nines over aces, and Teddy KGB had aces over nines. Oh, gotcha, okay, rough stuff.
Jesse:It'd be at the end and they'd be taking all the chips and be like did I lose? Why did I lose?
Jason:Can I?
Jesse:get part of them. How did I lose this?
Jason:Did I lose it all the way? Yeah, but.
Jesse:Kanish. Kanish takes them outside after the game. He's trying to console Mike. See, I put Matt and I didn't change it. Mike said he's done, he's through playing cards and he asked Kanish if he has, if he still has the truck. Whatever Kanish does with that truck, I don't know. We see Mike. It's like I don't know nine months later. Right, we see Mike, he's got a baby.
Jason:Yeah.
Jesse:We see Mike driving a delivery truck for Kanish because he has to pay for law school. How much does this truck pay?
Jason:I can't. I mean I don't know, Like delivery, doing delivery trucks in a city, like where are they supposed to be in? Is it like Boston, New York or something? I think it's New York.
Jesse:Yeah.
Jason:You can make a lot of money doing that.
Jesse:Yeah, I think it's New York. Yeah, you can make over $100,000 a year. I mean, it seemed like he worked like 16 hours the way he made it seem like.
Jason:Yeah, I mean, law school is expensive. Yeah, but that'll, I mean, I mean, this is also 1998.
Jesse:Yeah, that's true. Probably wasn't nearly as much now. So we see after. We see Mike he's delivering packages. We see Mike goes to deliver something to Abe. He's a law school dean who is playing poker with some of other judges and prosecutors. Yeah, the judge game. Yeah, super sweet. Mike starts betting for the dean, like everybody's, super confused at the table, but then he, like, proves himself by being able to guess in everybody's cards essentially, and like he impresses the one judge, he's like I'm gonna put you at the top of the list.
Jason:Yeah, it gives them a. What do you call it? The position? Yeah, something. Whatever you get, an internship or whatever. Whatever you have, whatever you have.
Jesse:I mean they ask him to play, but he's like I don't play anymore, I don't play cards. So like well then, how the hell did you get good at this? I do just love it, cause, like that one judge was like hey, I'm pretty impressed with him. I like that guy. It's like why he just knew your hand.
Jason:Doesn't mean he's gonna be a good judge.
Jesse:I don't know.
Jason:I mean, I think that's a lot of not being a judge, because they just kind of read the facts. I guess he's trying to be a lawyer. He's trying to be a lawyer, I think. Yeah, I mean I could see how the two kind of professions could be helpful to each other.
Jesse:You're like trying to question a witness and they're on the stand. They like they take out a bunch of Oreos and start, just like listening to him.
Jason:Sir, please put the Oreos away. He's guilty.
Jesse:He brought Oreos. I don't know what else to tell you guys. No, normal not guilty person would ever do that.
Jason:And we got a good amount of here. If there's going to be ants, but we see him.
Jesse:He goes home to his girlfriend. He explains how he impressed the table and it's set up for the summer. His girlfriend does not like the idea of him using poker skills and impressed people. She wants him to use poker skills in the courtroom somehow.
Jason:Which was basically what he kind of wanted to do. He impressed a bunch of the top court.
Jesse:It's just he's not allowed to be. He sees a card. She's mad at him. How fucking dare you have fun. She doesn't want him to con his way to the job. I don't know, it's like I don't think he can't. She just immediately takes it to the most ridiculous possible scenario. Yeah, she wants stability. I just feel like normal, like if this was a real character, like a real person, she'd be like okay, so you didn't play. No, I promise. Okay, I believe you.
Jason:And you got an internship out of the deal. Yeah, it's like hey, great job.
Jesse:Just try not to just don't rely on it.
Jason:Don't destroy our livelihood, cause I had an uncle who had a gambling problem, oh really, and he would lose. He would win cars and houses, and then he lost every fucking thing. He pulled a mic, so I get where she's going she's coming from. Maybe she knows a little bit about the loss.
Jesse:Sure, I mean, he did lose $30,000. We have to think about that that's success. I just feel like they could have written her character a little more sympathetic Instead of like she. Well, it's the problem in a lot of TV film where they make you know the guys, the main character, and you're like lady, stop trying to make the plot not happen. It's like the most famous one is Skyler and Breaking Bad oh yeah, yeah, where like nobody liked her character, but it's like she's the only one acting normal most of the time she's being normal.
Jason:But we're just like normal human reactions.
Jesse:No, we want Walter White to do drugs dude.
Jason:We want them to make the drugs.
Jesse:Yes, Stop trying to stop the plot. But he then asked Joe um. He asked her to borrow the car to pick up his childhood friend, Childhood friend Worm.
Jason:I just had an amazing thought. Would you call this type of character, the girlfriend character that tries to stop the plot? A plot, hoe, wow.
Jesse:Joe is a plot, hoe Wow.
Jason:That's a t-shirt.
Jesse:It says I'm a plot hoe and then like, oh yeah, because it could be perfect, because it could be like a him and her t-shirt. It could be like I'm the plot hoe. He's the plot, bro, oh my.
Jason:God, I'm going to get murdered.
Jesse:We have to make sure we remember that.
Jason:Visit the merch shop that has not created yet.
Jesse:Yes, so we see Worm. He's playing cards for cigarettes. He wins all of them and everybody is super mad because he's playing with like three black guys and like we'll learn why like his whole system in prison soon. While they're mad at him, they find out that he's actually getting processed and getting out with all those cigarettes.
Jesse:They're like dude, give us some. He's like I want it Fair and square, but he does live a few cigarettes, which is probably good because he might be back later. Um, and, but we see him, he like they process them and they give them all his stuff and he's like oh, there's one thing you're forgetting. It's a toothpick which he puts in his mouth and then immediately he's outside and throws it away.
Jesse:Yes, I would put it in my mouth though yeah, he's been in there a while and then, ryze, he's about to get out. He throws all the cigarettes in the trash. Yes, worm and Mike, they like have their hug. You know, they have a little bit of banter. Worm explains that while he was in there he had to play three constant games of cards. He played the guards so that he wouldn't like he had to lose money to the guards, that they would help them out. Um, the white people. What did he have to? What did he get from the white people? I can't remember, oh.
Jason:Probably commissary.
Jesse:Yes, and then the black people. He oh, he had to trade with the white people, but he had to play the black people to get cigarettes from them so that he'd give them to the white people. I think he made money from the white people and then he had to get that essentially straight to the guards yes, Wyrm asked about why Mike isn't playing cards. He's like I just don't do it anymore.
Jason:It's like I can't, I'm too good, I'm straight ahead now.
Jesse:I'm a good boy and then Wyrm wants to get him back in so that he can help him win some money to pay off some loan sharks. Because at first he says I'm just like ten thousand dollars down and he has no idea how much she owes the Jews and then Mike's gonna go drop him off at a game. Wyrm is trying to talk him in to coming in and, but Wyrm, like we learned that worm also needs a little bit of cash, so he gives them like two hundred dollars To put this stake in. Keep trying to talk Mike into going.
Jesse:Yeah he just will not do it.
Jason:And that's the thing with like gamblers that are like addicts they will, even if they're gambling away Hundreds of thousands of dollars, if another addict comes around and like it's like, hey, can I just spot me like a thousand. They're like, yeah, no problem, yeah, no problem. Any other situation they probably like.
Jesse:I feel like the situation it's like all right, but if he wins that a thousand, he'll give me some too.
Jason:Yeah.
Jesse:I'll get it back. I'll get it back cuz he'll win and they never, nobody, ever went.
Jason:You don't ever win.
Jesse:But so Mike says he's not going in. Worm goes in and Mike drives off. About halfway down the road he turns around to go in. Yeah, and then you know, when he gets inside he's greeted by the hostess of the place. This is a person that worm almost had a chance of banging.
Jesse:She tells him to pretend to be her boyfriend so he can get a table with Mike. We see worms shuffle an ace to the bottom of the deck and then we see it end up in Mike's hand. It's the same ace that worm had tattooed on his, on his wrist, which is a nice touch.
Jesse:So Mike and worm play all the other players and get all their money. Worm loses and pretends to be mad because he's great at being a sore loser. Yes, they get out safely and nobody knows the difference. It's great, it's like hell yeah let's go. Cheating works. It's a. It's a little taste of them playing cars together where you're like.
Jason:Before, like everyone, or before probably before worm went to jail and before Mike stopped playing cards for some reason. That's how you got $30,000.
Jesse:I'm assuming yes, so it's the next morning. They're all. They're still out, so they never went home yet. Hell yeah, mike takes worm to another underground poker place.
Jason:I'm gonna walk off house first. You know, like the Chester place or chess yeah, the Chester.
Jesse:The Chester fields yeah, something like that. Yeah, and Mike's worms on to be chill and not cheat here, because this place will notice they have. You know, it's just like a lot of really good poker players.
Jason:Yeah, like the, these are like cops and municipal. Well, no, not this, this is okay.
Jesse:This is kind of a bunch of different groups of people. Yes, there's a bunch of rich people, okay, wanting to lose all their money.
Jason:Yes, yeah, just for fun.
Jesse:They're here for fun, yeah so he lends him money through Mike's tab. Mike leaves and worms stays to play Nothing to worry about, because I think he gives them like $2,000 to start mark. Yeah. So Mike gets home and his girlfriend is still awake waiting for him. The classic I never went to sleep because of you because of bad idea.
Jason:Yeah, you should have done that. Yeah, and.
Jesse:They have a beating. They have a meeting. They have a meeting for the big mock trial they have. He's gonna show up late. She grills him about if he has been near cards he lies in, but she finds the giant water money you want. It's like really you didn't hide it.
Jason:That's what you stop, your stuff put in your book. Yeah, that's what you stuff your crotch with.
Jesse:I would have just been taken to the shower with I Can't find out.
Jason:But so catty yeah.
Jesse:So Mike shows up late to the meeting, his girlfriend looks super sad and worried. Canis shows up at the meeting to talk to Mike. He's warning him about worm because he's already causing trouble.
Jesse:Canis says that he can tell that worm is pulling cards from the bottom of the deck. He says no one else is noticing, but more people are starting to show up, so it's like. He's like, should I go get him? It's like no, no, no, don't. Then he says but more people are showing up, he's all right, I'm going, I better go. Canis has like a little smile. Love John to tomorrow. Yeah, it's amazing. So Mike runs off to get him so he doesn't get into trouble. We see worm playing two Russians. It's like stop talking Russian.
Jason:You can't fuck with the Russians. They'll fucking poison you. Exactly a window.
Jesse:It's like come on, don't, we know dangerous, oh, get you. So Mike pulls him out because he's about to. He's got like eight thousand dollars of their money right now. So Mike is warning him now that he already has a sign on his back and he's just been in the city for one day. Oh man, mike tells him if he gets caught he won't be able to get a game in the city or anywhere around the city. He explains that the two Russians are almost as bad as KGB. Mike convinces worm to lose his money back to the Russians, but he doesn't and takes it all. Oh man, I think he ends up winning ten thousand dollars. It's cool. Yeah, he won 10 G's and takes it all.
Jesse:The. What's her name is like uh Well, we usually don't let you take all the winnings, especially if you have a tab of two thousand dollars. Yes, mike's good for it, don't worry, I'll take it. Fuck off, I'll pay him back. I'm so pissed about Mike. Yeah, but then we're cutting back. Mike's girlfriend is mad at him because and doesn't trust him anymore. Explains that sitting down at a Card table last night is the first time he felt alive since he lost it all. She walks off, dang. Yeah, it sucks for her. It's like come on, dude.
Jason:What are we doing? It's just maybe she should just get on get down some uno with him.
Jesse:Yeah, you know, I'll play real good. You know what? Let's play war. It takes eight hours to play anyway. So we cut to warm. He's at a strip club. He gets visited by grandma. Oh, grandma visits you at the strip club. Yeah, happy day. I know. When I saw grandma I was like, oh, I love that actor.
Jason:If my grandma ever showed up at a strip club while I was there.
Jesse:I don't know what I would do. I give her 31, say let's go, grandma.
Jason:I guess I'll be like I'll buy your lap dance training.
Jesse:So you fucking, you know what would be.
Jason:I Would leave immediately after.
Jesse:I have fun. Grandma, I wouldn't watch it.
Jason:Yeah, you're right, you've got to just cut to give her the money and leave, yeah, and maybe send her a taxi over right. Make sure she gets home, okay. Oh, that would be awkward.
Jesse:So grandma's telling him about all the money he owes worms love learns that grandma is in business by himself but he's being funded by KGB. Grandma consolidated all the worms debt so now he owes grandma 25 G's dang grandma's on a mess with. Did you just go to people? Well, I think he essentially is like I'm gonna pay, you, pay off the loans to the other yeah.
Jesse:KGB gave, I'm assuming 25 G's to grandma grandma's like I'm gonna pay all this guy's debts and now he owes us. But we're also really interest probably more interest in what they were doing and I love it because grandma's just beaten.
Jason:Have faith in this guy, this guy named worm, who's just got out of prison. You know, I really believe this guy's gonna be able to pay me. Well, they're just like we're gonna kill him. I know, but you still don't have the money.
Jesse:I still don't have any money, but I guess you're tough guy. I don't know, I'm not a tough guy. Well, I'm assuming he essentially runs like a brothel in his. So I'm assuming he's just like if I don't get it from him, I'll end up getting 25 G's from somebody I don't know.
Jason:I don't know how it works. I don't either. We need a real gangster in here. Yeah gangsta tells how it works. Yeah, it's Nate Come on.
Jesse:You're a gangster and he's tuckered out today.
Jason:I don't know what happened.
Jesse:It was for us twice, um, but yeah, so I love grandma. He's just like straight up, just like whaling on the guy. He's like no, no, no, don't hit me anymore, don't hit me anymore. I. Wish that worked right, it's like, but worm, like during the scene, he like won't shut up, he won't get out of his own way which is something we're gonna learn or later with grandma and worm.
Jason:Yes, he thinks he's smarter than everyone.
Jesse:Yeah, he's just got a. He's just got a mouth on me. He can't stop. So Mike goes and visits Abe the Dean. Abe heard about him bailing on his meeting. Abe asked how Mike knew what everybody held at the poker game that he was at. Mike Mike explains how he watches everybody's faces when the hands are dealt. And then Abe explains that back in the day he was supposed to become a rabbi because ever Mel and his family became a rabbi, but he saw everything at the altar, but God apparently, which I thought I really like this. I like Martin Landau, his whole. Just every time he gives a speech I'm like oh man, this guy's a professional.
Jesse:I love it. So his father sent Abe away because they were upset that he didn't want to become a rabbi anymore. Abe says that even though he had a respectable job, they still never talked to him again. And he says you can't run from who you are. Our destiny chooses us. I was like hell. Yeah, it's like you also know that you're just telling a poker player that, hey, stop doing it.
Jason:Don't be a lawyer. You should gamble.
Jesse:You should gamble more. That's a terrible time to tell him the story. So outside of Mike's apartment Worm is waiting. Worm doesn't tell Mike why he's beat up. When they go upstairs all of his girlfriend's stuff is gone. Worm's like dude, did you get robbed? But she had enough. Mike says I always told her she'd be a great poker player because she knows that when the chips are down to run she knows when to fold them. Yeah.
Jesse:She listened to that song and Worm decides to try to talk them into playing cards. This is one of the best parts of the movie. Right here it's like Mike's girlfriend has just left over his broken promise not to play poker. Worm, you know what always cheers me up when I'm feeling shitty. Mike, no, what's that? Worm rolled up bases over Kings check raising stupid tourists and taking huge pots off them playing all night high limit hold them at the Taj, where the sand turns to gold stacks and towers of checks I can't even see over. Mike, fuck it, let's go, worm, don't tease me. Let's play some fucking cards.
Jason:Yeah, I guess you fired up to play poker.
Jesse:It's like when I first saw the movie I was like I love poker.
Jason:I'm a poker man.
Jesse:This is just as good as any scene in Rocky right here. Just kidding, Well, this is a sports movie. Yeah, I mean it is.
Jason:It has all the elements of a sports movie.
Jesse:So they're off. They head to the Taj Mahal in the city. It's like Trump's Taj Mahal, is it yeah?
Jason:It's like Trump on it. So yeah, donald Trump, that sucks when they get there.
Jesse:Worm goes off to have sex with a prostitute and Mike sits at a table where all his poker friends came to drain money from unexpected mid victims Got conition. Yeah, what's her name, piatra. What's the girl's name, piatra? That Jomka, johnson, johnson. Yeah actually that's Fomka, yeah, something like that. I just can't remember her actual name.
Jason:Whatever, she's very pretty. Is that the girl from Goodwill Hunting?
Jesse:that was the girl from no, that's not the same one.
Jason:It's not the same one.
Jesse:It looks very similar. Yeah, I know who you're talking about, because Super hot yeah, somehow. I don't know if she's Irish or Scottish or whatever, I'm not sure but I do have one problem with the film, and we'll get to it. When she gets there she's great. But I'm just Are you talking about?
Jason:Goodwill Hunting.
Jesse:No, this one. So then we get a montage. There's like great monologues about that. They're all just together like hey, I'm going to take you money, no, you take my money, blah, blah, blah. And then like two people sit down and they're like they all look at each other like let's go, we're taking all their money. But it's this great montage of just like yeah, people sitting down and be like God, dang it.
Jason:That would be me. I would be the one sitting down, yeah, ready to take everyone else's money and lose everything.
Jesse:Have you ever been?
Jason:to a casino.
Jesse:No.
Jason:I was in a casino for like 20 minutes and we played. I was like we lived in Washington state or like just casinos, casinos everywhere. Let's do it one time. I spent $15 playing blackjack One hand.
Jesse:I feel like blackjack is super hard to win and it seems easy, but I feel like just the way the cards land, it's.
Jason:They're so fast, like everyone else at the table was like expecting you to go super fast because they're all like they've all been sitting there for hours and you're just like, well, I don't know.
Jesse:What should I do? Let me calculate this in my head.
Jason:You're all looking at you. You're like you're trying to do the fucking, the fucking. What was the, the, the, the rain, rain man? You're trying to do the rain man thing in your head and they're all looking at you like fucking egg.
Jesse:It's the the part in the hangover when what's his name is is that Gil Fnakis is like trying to add everything up.
Jason:Yes, but really, but yeah, we lost. Um, yeah, anyway, it was not what I thought it was going to be.
Jesse:Yeah, and great part about this. Mike's talking about how he can tell, like everybody's, tales that come in SysTown.
Jason:This is really Unless they're Oreo related. Yes.
Jesse:That if you bring food in the mix he can't do it. But Wyrm comes back. Kanish does not like that. He's back. Um, nobody likes him.
Jesse:Essentially, wyrm wants to take Mike's ships to join the game but like the dealer's, like no, that's not how this works here. This is an uh actual place that you have to play by the most. Wyrm gets mad and tells Mike to go. Wyrm finally tells Mike about grandma. Mike can't believe grandma would do that. Larry, like he's cause they used to, I guess, all be kind of partners together and says that he will get worm into bigger games Cause now he knows that he needs $15,000 because grandma took the 10,000 earlier and it's going to kill him, yep. So Mike shows up late to his uh mock trial. Mike is late and underprepared and screws everything up at the mock trial and, disappointing a, he comes in. Literally the first thing he says is like we already said, you can't do that. So this guy is like. At that point the group should have been like before he even got here. He's not doing this, he's just going to be sitting down.
Jesse:One of us is taking over.
Jason:This is obviously not acceptable.
Jesse:Um, but then we get the um official breakup between Mike and Joe and it's like oh, thank God, now let's start playing cards. Um, so Mike is back at his apartment. He gets a visit from Piatra Piatra. Uh, mike is watching, which I?
Jason:think means Peter Peter.
Jesse:Mike is watching an old world poker championship game. Um, she comes in and it's just as interested. She came to tell Mike that worm has ran up his tab up to $7,000. And um, we learned that she has the hots for Mike. Obviously, she starts kissing on him and Mike pushes her off. Why yes?
Jason:You two should be together. You just got up, you got. This is like the greatest rebound ever Like.
Jesse:I know that, like he's upset and stuff, but I was just like what are you talking about? This is this is who you should be with. Like I like to think after this she's like oh, I get together with her because she has the same interests as me, we get along. It's like I don't know. I just felt like in the movie it should have been like oh, she should have, they should have gotten together at some point yeah, I think so.
Jesse:Cause she seems perfect for him, um and. But then soon as she leaves, mike just like throws like a glass at the wall because, of worm.
Jason:And yeah, worm sucks, he sucks, he's the worst.
Jesse:Um, mike goes to a church that worm used to run to whenever he was hiding from bullies and people he pissed off. Worm tells Mike that he's he had had some bad luck so and he only has $900 now. So he ran up the tab to $7,000 and he only has $9,000. He tells worm that they have to talk to grandma so that they can make a deal and he's like I don't want. We're not grandmas always good for a little money.
Jason:We're not going to grandma's 20 bucks.
Jesse:So Mike and worm, they go to grandma's to talk to him.
Jason:And I love how grandma is always in his, in a robe and like underwear, and surrounded by prostitutes.
Jesse:Yeah, it's like this he's got a little bit of power and now he's the most scummy, scummy person ever that just come back and all of his clothes are stained and gross.
Jason:Exactly, it's like the worst.
Jesse:So Mike tries to convince grandma to let him give five grand a week until it's paid off. Grandma seems like he's going to go for it, but of course worm opens his big fat mouth.
Jason:Which classically worms don't have big mouths. Yeah, they're tiny, exactly.
Jesse:Tiny mouths, um, but so, grandma? He's like grandma's like screw it, I want it all right now. And then Mike's like no, I'll vouch for him, we'll have it. And he's only gives him like five days to get 15 G's, which is crazy. Um, but just worm won't get it Get out of his own way or Mike's way.
Jason:They're. Yeah, he just signed his life away. Yeah, For his buddy.
Jesse:Um, mike says he can do it. They're going to go play until they have it. You get a montage of Mike taking everybody's money. We see him blow out three tables but then loses at, like, this golf poker game that they were talking about throughout the film and then worm like takes him out of the game. Essentially, worms like dude, why didn't you take that pot you could have easily taken. He's like no, I didn't like what I saw. It's like I was going to wait and bluff them later in the game and like take them.
Jesse:It's like he could have had a better hand and worms. Like you're on 60 hours of sleep.
Jason:Or they haven't slept at all.
Jesse:It's like come on, we still need like half the money that they need and they have, I think, like one day to do it, two days or something like that. Yeah, so they learned that they got to double their money in two days. Worm says that he knows the game with municipal workers, but it's five hours away. Five hours both ways, essentially, so five hours there and five hours back. So they decided that they're going to go to the game and see it's full of state police Wonderful Worm's, like what.
Jason:They work for the state.
Jesse:It's like what are you talking about? You idiot Worm wants to come with Mike to cheat. But Mike says no, obviously the worst possible place to cheat, and he's like he knows where he's going to cause. He says I go do something for eight hours and come back and get me in the morning. It's like what am I going to do for eight hours? I guess I'll go bowling or sleep.
Jesse:And then we see Mike's able to get in the game. It's great it's game on time. Mike is doing pretty good. He's up 4,200. He's so closely getting there. Mike is happy. But then he hears Worm's voice and I think we all immediately like no, this was all almost done.
Jesse:So Worm sits down and he immediately starts cheating and Mike's keep having to fold because he immediately gave him what like three kings or something like that Seven yeah, it's like two kings and a seven or something and he folds it. Then you start seeing another cop next to Worm start like watching his hands very thoroughly and then he like gives them, I think almost like An ace, and three sevens seem like right off the bat. I want to do that, I know. I want to be able to do that too, I don't know. But then the cop notices it, grabs his hand and they're like trying to prove that he's cheating my say dude, I was winning. Before he got here he's like well, what do your cards say? And it doesn't look good for my story.
Jason:Well, that's what he's got the sevens.
Jesse:Yeah, in the full house thing and they, those cops, beat the crap out of me. I like that. They said not gonna say how this works.
Jason:We hate losing money.
Jesse:Yeah, cheaters, I thought they'd look worse. Honestly, there's like 20 people in there beating them up, they'd be those how long do you think they beat them up Like I?
Jason:don't know their wounds. I was like oh, that's like two minutes, if you get like each person taking turns for like 30 seconds, I mean, I could go on for minutes. Yeah that's a lot. These guys are big. Yeah, exactly, they're huge and they're used to beating people.
Jesse:I love that you got angel from a Dexter there Like, oh, he's gonna beat somebody. Yeah, we see Mike. He's super pissed worm is trying to worm his way out of the argument, though warm Worm says he has to cheat and doesn't understand why Mike always has to play straight. He's like what, are you smarter than me? It's like yes, I just don't like getting my ass, yeah, and then worm finally tells Mike that KGB bankrolled grandma.
Jesse:Mike says he isn't with worm this time and worm disappears for the rest of the film. Rip worm Cuz, we know, we know you're dead somewhere, yeah. So Mike goes back to grandma. Try to work something out with them. Mike explains that worm screwed him. Grandma says that he can't trust Mike because he thinks that it's like I don't know if you and worm are playing me or not, so you have to have the money. Don't let the door hit you on the way. I love that. Grandma's like oh, come in. He's like nah, I'll stay out the hallway, but Mike has one day to make 15 G's so easy.
Jesse:Mike goes to Kanish. This is also one of my favorite parts of movies. So he goes like the sauna or like YMCA or something, to ask for money for Kanish. Kanish tries to teach him a lesson, though Mike wants anything that he can give. They get in like a little spat.
Jesse:Kanishes like I can't give you the money, you're just gonna waste it. I give you 2,000. Now it's, it's gonna go down the drain. And he tells about it. It's like you know why I play cards to pay rent, a la money, child support, put my kids through college. Mike tells him it's like, no, but I'm good enough to play in Vegas. He tells him about this story where he beat Johnny Chan at one hand a poker and Because he's just like, outplayed him for whatever, just one hand. And then he walks off. Really, and Kanish loves this. And now he knows why. Mike made a run at KGB's place when he lost all the 30,000. He's like, I'm good enough, I can do it, but there was one thing in his way the Kebler elves Oreos. So Mike goes to Abe to ask for money. You know, maybe the nicest Dean in the history of the planet. Yeah, abe is very worried and decides to give Mike 10,000 Gs 10.
Jason:Gs, not 10,000 Gs.
Jesse:It's the best he can do. Nicest Dean ever. 10,000 Gs should have went to my Dean in TSC. He's like could I borrow $10,000? I'm in, I'm in trouble I'll be trouble.
Jason:No, my dad would have said go go with the Lord. I'm sorry, I don't know who you are. Can you get out please?
Jesse:So Mike cashes the check and goes to KGB's place to play cards and win enough money to get out of debt with them. So you have my money.
Jesse:Yeah, it's like dang dude, put a little more bees in there. Mike and KGB play against each other. Mike is immediately going all in like. Earlier in the film we see KGB messing with an Oreo. He goes, he puts it, he undoes it, but this time he doesn't eat the Oreo. Now he knows his obvious tale you know the most obvious tail in the history of tales when he don't eat an Oreo. So he has the upper hand. Now he beats KGB and gets his winnings. And now he's out just like a I can't, oh my god just like a young man coming in for a quickie. I'm so unsatisfied. That was terrible, holy crap, that was bad. I Immediately started doing it and lost all confidence in everything I was doing, and I don't even know what accent that was. I'm gonna hear about that one.
Jason:I know snakes pissed off.
Jesse:So grandma comes in to take his pay. Kgb is trying to go to him in a bedding all the money he just won. He's bringing up like, oh, I'm actually still up on you because I took 30,000 and you only took 15 for me. So Mike says screw it and he decides to play again. Yeah, now that he knows he has the tail, it's like, oh, I got this now. So. But as soon as we start it like, the camera pans over to KGB's chips and he has all of them. Essentially, mike has went on a losing streak and KGB has most of the chips. On a hand. We see KGB grab an Oreo and this time he eats it, meaning KGB has good cards. So Mike lays down a monster hand, Just like fold. Essentially, yes, this pisses KGB off and he throws his Oreos.
Jason:Mr Son of a beach.
Jesse:Oh, he finally figured me out. Now KGB is rattled and Mike is winning now hanging around, hanging around, check, check, check. Kids got to alligate to blood, can't get rid of him. I feel like that one was better, I was a better. I love that line though. Yeah, I just want to say that it worked tomorrow. So we're at the last hand of the movie. Kgb thinks he beat Mike and lays down an ace because he's getting. He's just throwing the Chips everywhere. He's like don't scatter the pot. He's like I'll do it. Fuck, I walk it right don't splash the pot.
Jesse:But so yeah, kgb lays down an ace but Mike has a straight and wins. It looks like KGB is gonna maybe kill him. But KGB tells him to pay him. He won fair in square, beat me straight up. So now he paid his debts and he can pay back Abe and go to Vegas. And grandma was mad too, like you think grandma would be happy. He's like god dang it, dude, I actually had the money for us. Now he doesn't. So he turned 10 grand into 60 grand. Good, the next day he goes to see Joe. They're having parting words. He asked her to give Abe his money. She says color if he needs a lawyer, and he's like I will, and I will and I do. Mike gets in the cab to go to the airport, to Vegas. The end our report. From the novelization we learn he becomes a decent poker player. Noice, yeah, that's the movie.
Jason:It's great yeah you know, there's a in our city, our Alderman. One of them Claims to be a professional poker player, and that's where she gets all our money.
Jesse:Oh really, yes, I think that's true, no.
Jason:She's just trying to hide.
Jesse:Like, how did? I am curious about when it comes to this movie, because the whole time I was watching I was like so this is all under the table, money, and it's like I think so. But then, like when you're gonna go pay your like student loans or whatever they're gonna be like, where'd you get all this money? They don't care. It's like, well, yeah, but just as bad. Whenever, like you go on your like w2 and you Put, oh, I paid off all my student loans or whatever they're gonna be like, well, how did you do that? Where'd you get this money?
Jason:Yeah, because you have to report winnings anything over a thousand dollars. Yeah.
Jesse:I think in Tennessee it's like five hundred dollars, I believe yeah. Or at least whenever you gamble through, like sports betting, betting apps like for football over $500 you have to. Yeah, I've never won over $500, so I'll never know. Actually I did turn $5 into $90. Yes, and then I quickly turned $90 into $0. That's like the third year in a row I did that too.
Jason:I really gotta.
Jesse:I really gotta learn to get out in fourth years of the charm and well, only put $5 up. I'm like, all right, $5. That's fun, yeah. And then as long as if I can just build it up, yeah, that's just fun. But then I start doing like dumb bets and I'm like dang it, I really.
Jesse:I really wanted to turn $10 into $100, and then I did it. Nine. Really want to make more money, right, and then I get back down to under $10 and I'm like all right, dollar bets everywhere, yes, all right. So we're gonna head to our categories. The first one up is the good, the bad, the ugly, the fine. The good is where we talk about what we've liked about the movie, what we thought was good. The bad is what we didn't like. The ugly is something that didn't age well. The fine is something that aged well. I'll let you start, jason, if you have the good.
Jason:I feel like With this movie, especially like with, because once you start playing cards you realize that not every hand is a fucking royal flush. Mm-hmm, I like tell this movie didn't Make it that way. They showed them fold. Yeah, they follow and they're checking and they're, they're playing real cards and, yeah, not everybody's got the fucking four aces on the whole. You know what I?
Jesse:mean yeah, and they're only showing you well, like maybe four or five minutes from an eight hour poker game. That's the best part, they're only, they're only showing you the big hands. They're not, they're not showing the crazy Like, they're not showing you like. Oh, I had two, twos.
Jason:Yeah, but they're winning on like, on weird, not just like, not yeah.
Jesse:Well, they're all. They're both betting whenever they're like oh, I got a good hand. Like two people have good hands are gonna start betting each other, right.
Jesse:That's what they're showing, not the oh, oh, I'm gonna raise. I'm gonna raise. Oh crap, that card didn't help full, they're not showing that right for me, the good was Matt and Edward Norton and Also people being good at their job. I love when they show people just good at stuff, you know, which is great for sports, sports movies. They always like, hey, this person's really good at this job and it's like yeah, I mean that makes you believe in the system a little bit yeah exactly the poker system.
Jesse:All right. So what do you got for bad?
Jason:the bad. That could the accent.
Jesse:Yeah, John Malkovich Herobrine yes it's smoking's bad, he's son of beach. Always say that, um, for me the bad was Joe's character. Yeah, just like. Oh, we couldn't make her At least a little fun or something? Yeah, give like a reason that you see why Mike is in this relationship but maybe they were trying to make it because did he?
Jason:he didn't get back together with her. No, no, they don't so I feel like maybe they're they're trying to. Maybe she's the part of his life that he's trying. He's trying to fake that part of his life.
Jesse:Yeah, exactly.
Jason:But it's just.
Jesse:Well, even like, if it's like you know she might, she's smart in this movie, like she's like oh yeah, I'm doing everyone should do yeah but whenever you have her and a character like Matt Damon's characters, how why'd y'all get together? What type of interest did y'all have? Obviously the one thing he loves.
Jason:He doesn't. He was obviously not being real with her, yeah.
Jesse:I just wish, like whenever they gave like female characters and sports movies and stuff like that, they just give him, like I Don't know, some sort of personality and interest sometimes. Not just professional interest. Yeah, it's like it's always the issue with every single sportsman. All right, the ugly. What's something that didn't age well for you? I got one big one, okay.
Jason:Didn't age. Well, I don't know, man, I guess Won't you go first Grandma's animal cruelty, randomly man. This is like.
Jesse:I know we're already know. Grandma's a bad guy, didn't eat on hurting a dog. Is this one of it? I mean, it's just like you. We already hated the character.
Jason:He was already like super gross thing is.
Jesse:It's like I knew he's gross, but I was still also at the same time like, oh no, he's like a fun character. And then as soon as he does that, it's like well.
Jason:Now I just feel really bad.
Jesse:No more interest in this character and the other, like I had, is the fact that this movie didn't make a lot of money when it came out. Yeah that, it's that kind of suck just hit, just maybe like two years too early before but it did pick up steam afterwards. Oh yeah, it's a cold, it's cold. Now we're back to our cold hits, like we always do.
Jason:Well, I mean, that's just like one of the cool things about movies like this. I mean just you can rewatch them and see something over and over new every time you see it. Because the first time you watch you're like Okay, I'm a sucker, I got you, I don't know shit about poker, but I'm gonna figure it out. And then you figure it out. And then you come back and watch it again. You're, you notice a lot more cool stuff.
Jesse:Yeah, exactly, it's really fun. Yeah, definitely it helps. Like, the more you rewatch the film, this gets better and better.
Jason:For the fine. I feel like voiceovers.
Jesse:Yeah, you're like voiceovers.
Jason:I feel like most voiceovers are bad, Our bad but, I, feel like this one, like the first, like two minutes you doing the voice over is pretty cool, especially since he's explaining the game. Yeah, it's like I actually really need this.
Jesse:Yes, I just feel like Matt Damon is also really good at doing the voiceover. Yeah, he was in character, still doing it. I know there's a lot of voiceovers like, if you watch the, me and Dakota were talking about this, the theatrical cut of Blade Runner. They, the studios force Ridley Scott to put Narration over it and Harrison Ford didn't want to do it. So it's like the laziest and most unenthusious narration ever. But some people love the narration. I don't know. I think it just spins what the first?
Jesse:one you watch. I would originally watch the final cut, which had no narration. Yeah, that's how I prefer.
Jason:Yeah, I mean, but I think I think it works well with this movie.
Jesse:That's great. Love it. Get some of the best lines from it. My fine was this poker Poker's fine.
Jason:Everybody likes poker and play with your grandma.
Jesse:Yeah, play her quarters. Yes, she don't need them. Take her to a strip club after All. Right, and the Last category is double featured. You have a double feature.
Jason:Oh, that was well started. I was trying to think of like other poker movies, but I think this movie kind of did it.
Jesse:Yeah, it's better than most.
Jason:It's the best out of all of them, so I guess my double feature with this would be another Matt Damon movie, whether it be Talented mr Ripley.
Jesse:I think you should do mr.
Jason:Ripley, mr Ripley.
Jesse:I think that one he's kind of a con artist yeah he is a con artist, so it kind of goes well, I feel like with this.
Jason:Yeah, I mean it's just cool, like to go back and see him and do these different roles where he's also lying, yeah, good at lying.
Jesse:It's funny because I was gonna do talented mr Ripley and I was like I just have a feeling.
Jesse:Jason is gonna recommend that movie, so I went with a different one. It is a poker game. It's called Molly's game. Molly's game have you ever heard of it? No, so it's an Aaron Sorkin film. He wrote and directed it. That's the guy that he wrote social network. He did West Wing, all that Okay. And it's the true story of Molly Bloom and Olympic Class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and came at FBI agent Dang. It's great. It's got a great cast. You got Jessica Chastain. That sounds fucking cool, is shit. It's really good. It's too long. Oh, cut 20 minutes out of it, but it's got.
Jesse:Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner and Michael Sarah.
Jason:What so good in this movie? That's awesome.
Jesse:He essentially is playing Toby McGuire, the character Toby McGuire. Yeah movie, but they don't give him the name, they just call him player X, but ever everybody says it's supposed to be Toby McGuire, because he is an actual poker player.
Jason:Oh yeah, I don't know, ruthless at it apparently, yeah.
Jesse:But cool. Those four give perfect performances.
Jason:Awesome. I would definitely recommend that.
Jesse:It's also it's got quick-witted dialogue, just like all Aaron Sorkin films. It's great. Oh yeah but that'll be it for this week. Next week, join us. We're covering Tommy boys. Tommy boy, we said it like eight months ago we're eventually gonna do it, and here we are. Can't wait, I love.
Jesse:Tommy boy it's gonna be great, quick, little, fun movie that everybody should have seen and we just want you to rewatch it. It's on max right now. And Then please leave us an email. You can go. You can leave us an email at we recommend mail bag. At gmailcom, you can Comment about past movies, ask us any questions. If you want to give us a comment about Tommy boy, you know we'll read it. I may start putting this at the beginning because I know a lot of people click off soon as I hear the Next movie we're doing. But also thank you for Joey Prosser, who did our intro and outro. You can follow him on X at, mr Joey Prosser. Also, if you want to follow us on social medias or if you want to listen to us on different platforms, go to our link tree. It's link tree forward slash. We recommend podcast.
Jason:That's it, yeah we crushed that, bro. It's up at all.
Jesse:It was a great movie, but yeah, so this has been the we recommend podcast. Make sure you join us next week. I've been Jesse, I've been Jason. You can't run from who you are. Our destiny chooses us. See you next week.
Jason:Bye.