Jogando com a Vida

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,(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!

As a Bette Midler fan it is difficult for me to dislike anything associated with her, but even with my fan loyalty, it is too much for me to sit through this movie.

The plot involves a triangle between Bette as a show girl and aspiring actress, her husband, a heavy drinking gambler with no steady job, and a young Vegas dealer. The premise lies in the gambler's ability to win every hand dealt to him by the young dealer, providing him with a steady income and causing the young dealer to lose his jobs and move from casino to casino. The young dealer calls the gambler a "jinx" giving us a title.

From this very strained premise (the movie loses any chance of credibility from the start) the plot moves from boring, to awkward, to outrageous, as in "What the heck is going on?" With a lame plot, poor acting by most of the cast, and no characters the audience feels sympathy for, the only thing this film has going for it is Bette's energy. She really pours her heart into her role, as if she feels like she can make this film great by her efforts alone. But even the Divine Mrs. M. can save this film, I am sad to say.

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')

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.