The DVD Dissection: Even Money
Posted by Chad Webb on 09.11.2007
If I were a betting man, I would not risk any dough on Even Money
Kim Basinger: Carolyn Carver
Danny DeVito: Walter
Kelsey Grammar: Detective Brunner
Nick Cannon: Godfrey Snow
Ray Liotta: Tom Carver
Forest Whitaker: Clyde Snow
Carla Gugino: Veronica Cruz
Grant Sullivan: Murph
Jay Mohr: Augie
Cassandra Hepburn: Claudia
Tim Roth: Victor
Carson Brown: Nicole Carver
Texas Battle: Darius Jackson
Directed By: Mark Rydell
Running Time: 112minutes
Theatrical Release Date: May 18, 2007
DVD Release Date: September 11, 2007
Rated R for language, violence and brief sexuality.
The Film
Even Money is a multi-narrative hyperlink drama that was released for about three weeks in May of this year, and grossed approximately $64,000. This will surely gain the attention of casual moviegoers. I can see them now. The cover will catch their eyes, and it reads a list of high profile names in an all-star cast. It is deceiving because this is one of the most unintentionally hilarious offerings of the year. Feel free to take the risk and spend your hard earned money to witness some of the most acclaimed actors lend some of their worst performances.
The story follows the lives of nine people, whose fates become tangled in the world of gambling addiction. Godfrey Snow (Nick Cannon) is a star basketball player, on his way to the NBA, but his brother Clyde (Forest Whitaker) is deep in debt to ruthless bookies. Carolyn Carver (Kim Basinger) is a writer, who has finished one book, and cannot start anything new because she spends her days at the casino slots. Her husband Tom (Ray Liotta) and daughter Nicole (Carson Brown) are unaware of her daily excursions. Augie (Jay Mohr) and Murph (Grant Sullivan) are a bookie duo, who formerly competed with two other “companies.” The first was Wing Loh, and the second is Ivan and his assistant Victor (Tim Roth). Wing Loh has turned up dead, and handicapped Detective Brunner (Kelsey Grammar) suspects Victor for the murder. During her travels to the casino, Carolyn encounters Walter (Danny DeVito), a washed up magician who has reduced to dumb tricks for visitors eating dinner. He increases Carolyn’s addiction by introducing her to blackjack. Meanwhile, Clyde is persuading his brother to shave points off the final score of the games to aid his debt to Victor, Augie, and Murph. As the problems build, the future of these parties will ultimately be decided in one moment.
What is obvious from the very beginning of this tawdrily configured film is that it desperately wants to be judged in the same light as what Traffic was to drugs,Syriana was to oil, and what Crash was to racism. The list of reasons why this goal was not achieved is a mile long. For starters, the characters are two dimensional, paper thin, lackluster beings impossible to be interested in, and second, it is filled with scenes such extensive foolishness that you’ll easily fall on the ground in hysterics.
Fresh off his Oscar winning turn in The Last King of Scotland, Forest Whitaker joins several other co-stars in overplaying a fairly simple role. He is Clyde Snow, and his primary line of dialogue is shouting “Godfrey Snow!” in praise of his brother, or yelling “ha ha, ha ho” as if he were Santa Claus. Despite Whitaker’s natural charm, he cannot muster enough talent to nail this part. Nick Cannon portrays his younger brother Godfrey, and thankfully his lines are limited. As Cannon proved in Bobby, when his contribution is minor, he is tolerable, but as a lead carrying the weight, he reminds me of an 80 pound girl trying to bench press 400 pounds. On a side note, Charles Robinson has a tiny role as Godfrey’s coach, and you know you’re witnessing a priceless scene when Robinson tortures his player in the weight room during a spotting session.
Kim Basinger’s resume is incredibly erratic and unreliable. She can succeed easily as she has in 8 Mile or L.A. Confidential, but she can also pollute a picture quicker than Rob Schneider as in People I Know or Bless the Child. As Carolyn, Basinger is increasingly annoying, and struggles to convey any sense of realism as a legitimate gambling addict. The scenes in which she attempts to act are excruciating, or embarrassing such as when she describes oral sex to her husband. Ray Liotta is that husband, Tom Carver, and is really is a shame that someone as gifted and enthusiastic as Liotta is on a streak of absolute dud films. Liotta always gives 100%, but it is difficult to acknowledge his strong attributes when he is playing someone as bland as a saltine cracker. At one point, Carolyn walks in and sees him staring at the fire, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is as boring as his wife accuses him.
Amazingly, Jay Mohr is one of the few exceptions to this abomination. His acting is admirable, but his character gets funnier the more viewers watch him. He is Augie, one half of a bookie team, and he has indigestion due to stress, so he chugs Pepto Bismol constantly. The crew must have looked hard at the character, and said,”Hmmm, we need to give him something to do. Ah ha! I’ve got it! He can have an acid reflux problem.” What makes this humorous is how seriously the director approaches it. Grant Sullivan is his partner Murph. Sullivan is a green rookie, but frankly, I was not bothered by him. Surprising that such an inexperienced newbie received such a substantial role. Murph has a dilemma in that his affection for Veronica is getting in the way of his responsibilities with Augie. Carla Gugino is excellent as usual as his girlfriend.
The two reasons to rent this as a surefire method for curing a bad day is Kelsey Grammar as Detective Brunner. This is an investigator on crutches, who also sports a prosthetic nose and chin. It is uproarious when Brunner crawls into a room, and then proceeds to speak as a grizzled war hero making his best efforts to sound tough. He disappears for at least 90 minutes, and then suddenly returns out of nowhere. This is one Grammar’s worst performances, and for goodness sakes man, what were you thinking? Danny DeVito falls just short of equaling Grammar in terms of laughable awfulness. As Walter the magician, the audience is somehow supposed to believe that this sleight of hand artist can convince women to assist him, can inform for the police, and yet resides in an airstream trailer at the back of the casino?
Screenwriter Robert Tannen and Director Mark Rydell are sending a foggy message, and not providing an all encompassing outlook of gambling. Regardless of the stagnant dialogue, the script becomes overly preachy in its aim. I had many questions in the end. According to them, is gambling bad? Should we feel sorry for the addicts? The line "Nobody's perfect" is repeated incessantly throughout the film, not to mention the last line which says that all of us will want more money at some point during our lifetime, but we need to give something up. Is this really the moral viewers needed to learn? The made-for-TV-like screenplay and Rydell's direction mesh together similar to oil and vinegar. This is not gritty or visceral, but rather stationary, polished, and pedestrian.
Casinos should not be the main setting for a sprawling tale of gambling woes. There has got to be some new territory to explore. Further contaminating the bland substance is the unremarkably hackneyed score from David Grusin that is employed as an appendage, not a compliment to the plot. The panoramic layout is not given any energy, hence the momentum dips when it should ascend. How unfortunate that the director behind On Golden Pond is also to blame for this vague and contrived melodramatic garbage.
Rydell approach veers more towards comedy, while Tannen wrote a crime thriller. This combination did not hit the jackpot to say the least. I firmly believe that a filmmaker exists who could potentially expose the underground shady realm of gambling in the form of an ensemble cast, but Mark Rydell is not that person. His mélange of story arcs dart from one to another, instead of glide in a fluid motion. You have as much chance of enjoying Even Money, as you would winning the lottery, conquering the slots, or mastering roulette.
The Video
Picture quality is clear, but draining and dreary as the camera ventures under docks, and dimly lit bridges for certain sequences, or in dull trailers, mundane houses, and dark offices any other time. This is a lifeless transfer if I've ever seen one. The colorful casinos are made into depressing places, when they should be lively. The basketball arena is white and boring with a claustrophobic atmosphere. This is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
The Audio
The dialogue is simple enough that even the most fuzzy and distorted audio would come across as lucid and understandable. This audio work is fine all things considered. Granted, the speakers have little, if anything, to do, but I can’t really locate any major complaints besides it is relatively unremarkable. Other than the bounce of a basketball, or the memorable sound of a slot machine, the majority is talking. This features optional subtitles in English and Spanish, as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 track.
The Packaging
Even Money is distributed in a standard black keep case with some dazzling artwork for the cover. Nothing is included on the inside, and the menus are only still images.
The Extras
Theatrical Trailer (2:18) – A suitably constructed preview that divulges too much, but actually makes this seem decent.
Haven (2:20) – A trailer for the DVD release.
The Illusionist (2:28) - A trailer for the DVD release.
The Film: 3.0/10.0
The Video: 6.0/10.0
The Audio: 7.0/10.0
The Packaging: 7.5/10.0
The Extras: 1.0/10.0
The 411: Even Money tries to put too many eggs in one basket, and ultimately ends up having no eggs at all. For a better film on bookies, rent Two for the Money, and for a good film on gambling in general, you have numerous to choose from like Rounders for instance. Even Money is one of the most embarrassing excuses for movie all year, and it truly expresses the worst in certain respected thespians. No matter what I say, or how much I attempt to persuade people to avoid, many will venture to the rental store and see popular stars on the cover, and immediately cave in to temptation. Do yourself a favor, and walk past this on the shelves. It is an agonizing experience.
