Deal

Poker was still red hot going strong in 2008. No Black Friday yet. WSOP & WPT still doing a ton of tourneys with heavy tv coverage. Everyone wanted to jump on the bandwagon, cash-in on the action - Hollywood included - leading to this relatively low budget entry 'Deal'. It has some moments card fans will enjoy, but also a healthy helping of cheese.

Alex (Bret Harrison) in his last year of university studying law likes to play poker, but it's his success online that allows him to be a part of a final table as played on national tv. Inexperience gets him eliminated, but he catches the eye of once legendary poker player Tommy Vinson (Burt Reynolds) who thinks he can make the kid a champion. Takes him under his wing in a 50/50 arrangement. Shows him the ropes, teach him lessons, but a blowup sees the two separate only for a showdown at the final table of a WPT tournament later.

Burt sports an obvious wig getting up there in age, but still fun to watch as Tommy. A man who hasn't played a hand in "over twenty years" after going busto and nearly losing his wife and now craves to get back into the game. Harrison holds his own and Shannon Elizabeth shows up to provides eye candy and a rather silly surprise.

Made in collaboration with the WPT, 'Deal' feels cheap at times given it's low budget. Purports to take place in multiple US gambling cities, but obviously all shot in one place. However if you enjoy the game of poker there's a few things here to enjoy. They don't do a bad job of capturing the game of no limit hold 'em and many pros & a few celebrities show up doing cameos. Counterbalance that with a cornball cliche story and a last second reveal that is beyond ridiculous.

Very poorly developed, the movie simply jumps into poker and fails to ever develop its characters or any interest in them.

If you're a poker fan you'll probably enjoy watching this fictional version of World Tournament of Poker et al.

But again, it's fictional, and apparently an opportunity for several big-name washed-out actors (Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Tilly) to get a job.

But since it's fictional and the characters are simply pretend, there's nothing in this movie that causes your empathy or excitement to root for them, unfortunately.

What a bum-deal.

If you play poker, this movie will make you cringe. It's kind of like you get embarrassed just watching it. Like people said it's not in the same field as Rounders. It's not even as good as lucky you. Which I thought had a few cringey moments of dialogue. But overall still much better than this. The grand is a worthwhile movie over this aswell as a comedy with a poker story. Anyways, the acting is very subpar. The lead character just isnt super likeable. Probably stems from me just being turned off by the script. Poker movies will generally have some of the same formats and story lines to some extent. That's why execution, acting, and dialogue is so important and this movie falls short. All in all just keep rewatching Rounders. And maybe occasionally throw in lucky you and the grand for your poker movie fix.

"Deal" is the oldie about the retired card shark - who's sworn off the game for love of a good woman - who serruptitiously takes a promising young whippersnapper under his wing to train him in the fine art of high-stakes poker. Burt Reynolds is the leathery old pro and Bret Harrision his green, but cocky pupil who together head to Vegas and New Orleans for an intense session of training and instruction. But will Tommy be able to resist the lure of the tables and not mount a comeback of his own? And will we finally wind up with the card shark and the neophyte squaring off in a televised multi-million-dollar tournament to determine the very best poker player in the whole wide world? I'll see you and raise you on that bet.

As a subject for film, poker is already one of the least compelling forms of competition there is, and "Deal" does little to rectify that situation. Moreover, the characters and plot lines are so hopelessly hackneyed and uninspired that we spend most of our time just waiting for the scenes to play themselves out. Harrison lacks charisma as the upstart newbie, but Reynolds brings a degree of gravitas to his overly-familiar role of a has-been trying to achieve the victory and personal glory he missed out on the first time around.

But you'll wind up feeling as enervated as the players long before the final hand is played.

It feels like it would be more at home on the small screen rather than cinemas, There really isn't any suspense or tension. It tries, but never delivers. the movie's box office explain it all: the film cost $5 million to make, grossed less than $100,000 in theatrical release!! what a disaster, But I think "deal" was not that awful neither good, Had some good scenes like the scenes which take place at the poker table are very entertaining and well made. But if you don't like poker, you'll find this flick boring and the plot really stupid. The storyline was so predictable, I think a child could write that story! and got Burt Reynolds a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor!! HAHAHA thats tremendous, He's not deserving it!