Bookies

Johnny Galecki is great in Bookies. His performance is nothing less then stellar. I've seen him before in other things, but always dismissed him as character actor. He shines in Bookies. If this movie had a higher budget, his performance would have garnered him an award. Galecki plays Jude, which is the most developed character in the movie. Also the character I hated. That's probably why I noticed Galecki's excellent performance.

Rachel Lee Cook sadly has the weakest character. Her acting wasn't weak, her character was. Without giving anything away, there is a scene where Stahl tells her he has given up, then she lectures him that he should give up, I'm sorry, didn't he just say he did give up??

The plot gets weak toward the end. You'll need to lend some creative license, but not so much that it enters the "Oh Come ON!" stage.

Good movie, worth the rental, or even purchase it in the bargain bin.

A trio of college students - business major Nick Stahl (as Toby Winter), addictive roommate Johnny Galecki (as Jude Petra) and computer geeky Lukas Haas (as Casey Young) - decide to become "Bookies" and make money taking bets on the ballgames they watch. They become very successful, then attract the criminal element. A few years ago, writer Michael Bacall might well have played the role characterized by Mr. Galecki, which may be why it had the most potential...

The likable leading role is given to Mr. Stahl, who gets to narrate and pursue cute Rachel Leigh Cook (as Hunter McGuire); an athletic babe, her soccer t-shirt reads, "I love kicking balls." Director Mark Illsley scores with a stylish chase combined with a frantic foosball game. His quarter toss and jump ball shots are neat, too. But, the movie's simply way too clean, which may explain a messy post-credits scene.

**** Bookies (1/20/03) Mark Illsley ~ Nick Stahl, Johnny Galecki, Rachel Leigh Cook, Lukas Haas

saw this flick in Blockbuster and was intrigued. I like sports gambling and thought this was a unique and smart movie that addresses the subject in a very clever way. Great actors with some good music and fun plot twists. Not sure why this never went to the movie theaters. It had gone to The Sundance Film Festival and it has NICK STAHL from Terminator III and HBO's CARNIVALE, not to mention Lukas Haas and Rachael Leigh Cook. AND the greatest actor from THE SOPRANOS--David Proval, the guy that played RICHIE APRILE. Saw that writer of this co wrote MANIC, which is an AWESOME movie that I actually saw at THE SUNDANCE FILM FEST a few years ago. That movie had DON CHEADLE in it and he is an acting god. If you like smart movies with some good dialogue that handles the topic of sports gambling on college campuses, go rent BOOKIES! I bet you'll like it (hey, I couldn't resist that last line).

watched this the other day on IFC, pretty interesting movie about college guys trying to make a buck. they set up a bare bones bookmaking system with an illicit way of picking up and dropping off money. as they make more money , they upgrade to computers and the like,, only problem is the mob soon finds out what the young men are up to,, then it starts to get very interesting. not a bad little movie, especially for an independent,, it's a study in bookmaking old school i guess you would say.. everything from writing bets down on a marker board to a massive computer system,, i particularly like the express drop off and pick up at the local library,, taking envelopes full of cash and stuffing them into books that have never ever been checked out,, very sneaky but brilliant also.

This is what every school going teenager dreams of. i always thought the Netherlands where missing out on a lot. we don't have school campuses here in the Netherlands, i love the idea of living on one over these. Doesn't matter if you see it in the movies or hear from people who studied in the us, the stories always sound amazing. This is one of the amazing examples what teenagers whit an idea and enough balls can accomplish. to bad they had to give it up. and "Rachael Leigh Cook"...what a FOXX!!!!

My Final conclusion; It's a easy to watch, entertaining & exciting story. well played by the actors. Love to see a part 2 on this movie.