Un giocatore troppo fortunato

No one wears Levis better than Ken Wahl as Vinnie Terranova. Like most baseball players, I think Ken has / had great legs. Wiseguy provided us some hot above the towel views but in this utterly stupid movie, you will get a below the towel shot. Ken's calves do not disappoint. Add a comment if you might know where I might catch a glimpse of his thighs.

Harold,(Rip Torn) a professional gambler, and his girlfriend Bonita,(Bette Midler) a lounge singer, follow Willie,(Ken Wahl)a young blackjack dealer, around the Reno Tahoe area. Harold has a jinx on Willie and can't lose with him. Bonita and Willie meet and fall for each other and plot to do away with Harold and collect on his life insurance. Thats when the movie gets really good, do not quite understand the negative comments of this movie. fun for all I moved to the Reno area a few months after its filming and finally watched the movie years later its one of my favorites

Harold leaves a scavenger hunt for Bonita to find so she would'not be left flat after he dies For years I have used the same scavenger hunt for my kids

loads of fun!

Bette Midler's a lounge singer in Reno who plots to kill her abusive boyfriend with the help of a hunky card-dealer, leading to a wacky scavenger hunt for the man's hidden loot. Dark-hued comedy takes a long time to get cooking, but there are some big laughs in the second-half, mostly due to Midler's hamming and several of her wicked throwaway lines ("Talk to my a**, my head's had enough!"). Ken Wahl is a tepid stud, but Rip Torn is a hoot as Midler's scummy roommate. Frank D. Gilroy co-penned the screenplay with David Newman, utilizing the pseudonym Bert Blessing. Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography is gauzy and gauche (perhaps he should have adopted a pseudonym as well). Overall, not as atrocious as its bad reputation might leave one to believe. ** from ****

Harold Benson (Rip Torn) is a professional gambler, who always wins the bets against the blackjack dealer Willie Brodax (Ken Wahl). Harold has a jinx on Willie and ca not lose with him. The bad lucky of Willie is getting famous in Reno, and he is fired of all casinos after losing for Harold. The singer Bonita Friml (Bette Midler) is the abused girlfriend of Harold, who has an affair with Willie and plots to kill Harold simulating an accident with the trailer where they live, to get his life insurance. Ten years ago, I bought this VHS in a sale offer based on the name of Don Siegel, but I was not able to finish watching this movie, since I found it boring. Yesterday I decided to see it until the 'The End' and now I can say that it is really silly and boring. The story is an unsuccessful dark comedy, with very few funny parts. It is very hard to believe that a handsome man, like Ken Wahl, could fall in love for the character of Bette Midler. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): 'Jogando Com a Vida' ('Gambling With the Life')

Gambler Harold (Rip Torn) and his girlfriend Bonita (Bette Midler) follow blackjack dealer Willie (Ken Wahl) where ever he works. It seems Harold is a jinx to Willie--Harold always wins big when Willie deals. Willie and Bonita meet and fall for each other and plot to kill Harold for all his money.

This movie was plagued with problems. Wahl and Midler hated each other and were always fighting and arguing--at one point Wahl likened kissing Midler to kissing his dog! Unfortunately director Don Siegel also hated Midler and it comes through loud and clear. This movie was being called a disaster before it even came out! I remember seeing it opening night in Boston in a nearly empty theatre. It's not a good movie but it's not a disaster either.

Wahl is pretty terrible in his role. Handsome but blank. Siegel's usually good direction seems off (I think on purpose). The plot is more drama then comedy--despite Midler's performance in "The Rose" she was much better and more comfortable doing comedy. Still, she's the only reason to see this. Despite all the problems she was having while filming this she's full of life and energy. She's especially good while doing a stage number and interrupting it to plot with Wahl how to kill Torn. Torn is good but he's hardly in the movie.

All these years later look at who's still popular. Siegel died in 1991 and Wahl's career died quickly in the mid 1980s. Midler is still going strong. So I liked it but I'll never say it's a GOOD movie. For Midler fans this is a must.

"I'll never walk again."