The Gin Game

It takes a bit to get used to VanDyke and Moore as the antithesis of Rob and Laura but the quicker you do it the sooner you can enjoy this well-produced version of D.L. Coburn's play. The rapport between these two is still present and just as sharp as it was 40 years ago. The text (written in 1978) holds up well. Direction and camera work are also fine. A film well worth seeing/owning.

When I saw this on the shelf at Hastings I thought,oh a movie version of the play huh.I enjoyed the play a lot more but the movie was pretty good. But I still hold the play in high regard. I saw the play way back in I can't remember while vacationing in the beautiful city of Boston,Mass. I don't exactly remember who was i it but I left the play house thinking that was a great play and was acted extremely well. This is coming from a guy who enjoyed Dracula the Ballet. I recommend seeing the play first then the movie but that's just me. I know that some people probably won't get a chance to see the play but all in all the movie is pretty close to the play itself. If I ever had a chance to see this play again I would drop whatever I was doing and see it. As I have said before and if you can see the play first then the movie. I hope that you won't be disappointed.

Really more a filmed theatrical staging for PBS, than a true film per se, this two- hander is solidly acted by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.

They play two very different types in an old age home: the extroverted, gregarious, but also somewhat volatile and misanthropic Weller and the introverted, prim Fonisa form a friendship over games of gin, which she has an uncanny knack for winning, even though she is a complete novice to the game.

In this production at least, the play feels sweet, funny, well written and occasionally touching, but also a bit familiar. And the characters' secrets aren't very surprising given the build up to their reveals.

But that said it can often invoke a smile, and the ending was surprisingly touching without resorting to the obvious or unsubtle.

While I didn't see the original production starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, and directed by Mike Nichols, certainly the reviews I could find make it sound like a darker, more disturbing approach to the play and the characters, which I could imagine giving the whole thing more heft and power. While this never turned 'cute' it threatened to at moments.

But in the end, it was still fun to see these two excellent old pros go at it, and I was never bored or less than interested.

Casting for this revival of the bittersweet play was perfect. I have enjoyed the work of these two wonderful actors throughout their careers. This play is a perfect vehicle for a reunion of Rob and Laura Petrie. At my age, the play is almost too close for comfort - I see Weller in me, but I don't plan to go down the same path...

I highly recommend this production to anyone wishing to encounter a slice of reality portrayed by two gifted actors.

The movie was good and I was enthralled by the connection between Moore and Dyke. The only problem I had with the film was the ending. The ending is very abrupt when you don't really expect it.

Yet over all it was an intriguing story of two elderly people.