Going for Broke

I watched this movie with my mother and loved it. I recently taped it because of the outstanding job that it did in addressing a serious issue. In this movie Laura Bancroft's life began to spiral dangerously out of control due to a severe addiction to gambling. When she started neglecting her husband and her kids to gamble she was just an addict. When she resorted to stealing to bankroll her habit she became a full blown junkie. It seemed that as the movie progressed her problem only got worse. In the end gambling not only destroyed her life but the lives of everyone around her. It just goes to show just how destructive any kind of addiction can be.

Lifetime television certainly continues its noble profession of making top-knotch tv films with Going For Broke. Before I watched it, I thought that it was going to be a typical "disease of the week" tv film, but no! This is filmaking at its very best. Its powerful, chilling and unforgettable. Real-life husband and wife Gerald McRaney and Delta Burke have the same chemistry as Tracy and Hepburn I believe. I just could not believe how foolish Delta's character was as she became addicted to gambling and just threw EVERYTHING!! away. Her loving husband, her wonderful, caring kids and her entire life for gambling. How could one person be so foolish. Her mother confronts her at the end and says "You threw it all away! I thought I raised you better! I do not know weather to hug you or slap you!" Watching her character is like watching a car going towards a brick wall at 100mph! I know this may sound very strange, but the fact this film does not have a happy end where everyone hugs and kisses and poops their pants, makes it better, it makes it more real to life and hard hitting.

Splendid acting by all of the characters. Outstanding illustration of the consequences of compulsive gambling. Gambling must be viewed as entertainment, not as a means to earn money and to "win back what you have lost." It is easy to see how you can get seduced into the artificial atmosphere of the casino, and even more so how you can lose track of time at the slot machines, therefore neglecting your obligations, like how Laura put her children's lives in danger several times. This movie serves as a warning to how anyone can wake up one morning and discover that everything is lost due to gambling addiction. If just one person's life is turned around as a result of this excellent movie, if just one person decides to receive help, it is worth it.

If I had watched this movie five years ago, I would have thought it was extraordinarily well written, directed, and acted, but I would have thought the plot was unbelievable. After all, how on earth could an upper-middle-class mom and career woman could ever fall into the grips of casino gambling addiction and throw her entire life away? Now, with a mother-in-law who has destroyed her family and is in financial ruin because of gambling, I realize that this movie is far more realistic than I could ever have guessed. Actually it gave me some insight into my mother-in-law's point of view (even though I still can't fully understand it). Outstanding, outstanding movie.

Delta Burke and Gerald McRaney are married in real life, however, in this picture, you sure feel sorry for poor Gerald McRaney. Delta Burke has a very hard time trying to get away from the ONE-ARMED BANDITS of Las Vegas. The film is very upsetting and I suppose that is what the actors are trying to portray and they both sure did a great job in their acting skills. Delta goes completely OUT OF CONTROL, neglects her son and daughter, husband. Delta wins $50,000 and turns around and gives it right back to the Casino's, she even takes $10,000 from her mother and it seems to just vanish in thin air. Just watching someone lose their entire life and family to gambling is very disturbing, however, it has a great message to all people who someday have to face the fact that they have a problem with gambling and need immediate HELP before they destroy themselves and everyone around them who love them dearly. Thanks to Delta & Gerald for a wonderful moral picture.