The Gambler

1974 drama

Rating: 10/20

Plot: A literature professor struggles with addiction and alienates his family and friends. He should learn a lesson when he finds himself drowning in a dangerous forty-four thousand dollar debt and has to have his mommy bail him out, but he goes right on gambling.

If only there were Oscars awarded for chest hair. This movie isn't very good; it's dated and overlong. It's one of those movies that threatens to end several times but then doesn't. I'm not saying a movie has to have a nice tidy tight resolution, but this one goes absolutely nowhere. The character doesn't get, learn, change, or anything. And that's a problem with a movie like this. He's not really likable, but he's not exactly unlikable all the time either. He's just kind of there, and I got really tired following him around after about an hour. The point was sort of driven home after ten minutes. I really didn't need the additional hour and a half.