Even Money

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Rating: R

Starring:

Kim Basinger as Carol Carver

Danny DeVito as Walter

Kelsey Grammer as Detective Brunner

Nick Cannon as Godfrey Snow

Ray Liotta as Tom Carver

Forest Whitaker as Clyde Snow

Carla Gugino as Veronica

Grant Sullivan as Murph

Jay Mohr as Augie

Cassandra Hepburn as Claudia

Texas Battle as Darius Jackson

Shaunt Benjamin as Detective Jenkins

Amy Boatwright as Debbie/Card Dealer

Rita Branch as Sara Jones

Carson Brown as Nicole Carver

Jonathan T. Floyd as Michael Black

Tim Roth as Victor

Special Features:

None

Other Info:

Widescreen

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Running Time: 112 Minutes

Synopsis:

The following is from the DVD cover:

“Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Danny Devito, Kelsey Grammer and Ray Liotta star in director Mark Rydell’s ensemble addiction drama detailing the manner in which gambling and drugs affect a variety of people’s lives during the weeks leading up to a championship college basketball game.”

“Even Money” is rated R for language, violence and brief sexuality.

Mini-Review:

Despite a good cast, I was disappointed by “Even Money.” First of all, the performances weren’t all that great. Almost all the scenes between Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito were horrible. Basinger ooh’s and aah’s like a child while DeVito does weak magic tricks. Forest Whitaker overacts as the gambling addict whose brother is a star basketball player. And Kelsey Grammer inexplicably has a fake nose. The only stars who come off looking good are Ray Liotta as Tom Carver, Carla Gugino as Veronica, and Jay Mohr as Augie.

Then there’s the disappointing story. You watch all the character’s lives slowly spiral down the toilet. Seeing characters slowly destroy themselves isn’t exactly my idea of entertainment. And sadly there’s nothing unique about any of it. While it’s an interesting idea to show the horrors of addiction from several different perspectives, it has all been done before and done better. The large ensemble cast has very little to work with here.

“Even Money” comes across in the end looking like a weak TV movie. (And it’s not because of the large number of former TV actors.) I recommend you avoid it and watch other movies on addiction.

The creators also must not have been terribly proud of this film as there are no bonus features included.

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