Good actors work Basinger, DeVito and Whitaker...

Smartly written, empathetic and backed up with a fascinating social-minded viewpoint, Even Money delivers a darkly gripping perspective on the unnerving side effects of gambling that really works thanks to its emotionally moving score and solidly talented cast who portray their characters with honesty and sympathetic tenderness.

This is the worst movie I've ever seen. What a waste of talent.

money, money, money, sports. an all-star cast that couldnt do much because no one got enough time.

This movie caught my attention due to the rather impressive cast, though names like Forest Whitaker, Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger aren't exactly top billing these days. Speaking of which - was has happened to Forest Whitaker recently? From the Last King of Scotland, to this? "Godfrey Snow!" "God-freeeeeeeee!" Seriously, enough already Forest! Sorry, but I thought this movie was deplorable. The cast, whilst mostly big names, are nothing more than average in the end. There might be a solid performance amongst the lost of them, but for the life of me I can't find it. Perhaps Ray Liotta and even DeVito deserved pass marks - but otherwise, there wasn't a winner to be found in my opinion. The basketball scenes were poorly done. One of my major pet peeves is sports scenes in movies appearing fake - and this had fake and unbelievable written all over the court. I found no sense of realism whatsoever from any of the key basketball moments - not even from the announcer. I also find it difficult to believe Forest Whitaker could wander into a NCAA level championship game through an unlocked side entrance at one end of the court without any ticket required? Bizarre. Kelsey Grammer was not seen too much, as the detective. I didn't like the fact he had the walking sticks - I just didn't think it was needed. Kim Basinger was what I would call "over the top" in her role as the gambling addict. Again, I just didn't believe it. All in all, I'd suggest you only watch this movie if you have absolutely nothing better to do. It's from the makers of 'Crash' (or so we're told), but I'm not sure I believe that either. It is so far from 'Crash' (a great movie) that you will wonder whether you're watching a spoof of some sort. Honestly, it's that bad.

This one was a pretty decent movie. I appreciate what Rydell and co. were trying to do here, and it certainly makes you think about the descructive path that gambling can become. Unforunately, the plot struggles to be cohesive, and the actors don't seem particularly convincing or passionate about the characters they are portraying. Those complaints aside, it does make for a solid rent at least.

Pretty average flick. De Vito was pretty good though.

It was OK....Jay Mohr drinking pepto like its water....is that an indicator of a movie that's going to upset your stomach?

One of the worst films of 1986...I can't remember the last time I was this bored.

Another film about the horrors of gambling, this one done in a Traffik-esque style. I liked the way they decided to end this film, but up until that point it had been pretty lame. Feels like a leftover movie from the 90's.

Je ne l'ai pas vu au complet, il y a un moment que j'ai pas trop suivit, mais de ce que j'ai vu, c'était assez ordinaire..

Le jeu dans ses travers vu par plusieurs protagonistes dont les destins se croisent... la mère de famille qui met les à (C)conomies pour les à (C)tudes de sa fille dans les machines à sous, le magicien ratà (C) qui mise tout ce qui lui reste sur un pari sportif, l'homme qui force son frère à truquer ses matches de basket, les bookmakers qui gèrent les vies de ceux qui leur doivent de l'argent... Des personnages touchants ou qu'on dà (C)teste (excellent Tim Roth), et des situations dans lesquelles on n'aimerait pas se retrouver sont la force de ce film. Cependant il manque une etincelle pour lui faire depasser la moyenne classique des apprà (C)ciations...

Interesting film. I enjoyed all the stories coming together.

I had completely forgotten about this movie, when I suddenly came across it during the Christmas holidays. I'm very glad I decided to check it out. First of all, I don't know how it's even possible to forget a movie that has such an amazing cast. And Kelsey Grammer with some sort of weird prosthetic nose. Even Kim Basinger crawled out from under the rock she had been hiding under. Seriously, where the hell did she disappear? The one actor that blows everyone else out of the water for me, however, is Tim Roth. I really love his performance here as the maybe-a-bit-gay, wickedly asshole-y gangster. Steals every scene he is in, even when he's not really doing anything. Something about his demeanor is foreboding. The movie follows the lives of several people, who have all encountered money troubles. Everyone has a different method of coping, and as always, the lives intertwine at some point. I really enjoyed this flick, and while it's nothing special, the characters are interesting to follow and I got really invested in some of them. Inevitably some of them get hurt as a result of their decisions, and it really feels sad. Fortunately some of them get a happy ending as well (If you are now thinking of a massage, you are a pervert). Very pleasant surprise indeed.

Nett. Nicht so sehr actionreich und spannend, aber man kann sich den Film doch durchaus angucken... ich hab schon schlimmere gesehen. ;)

Here's another of my favorite type of film: the kind where unrelated and disparate characters are linked together by circumstance to create interesting connections. Even Money also has something in common with Crash, in that each film looks at how a destructive force can lead to these kinds of unexpected connections. In Crash, that force is racism; in Even Money, it's gambling addiction. That is not to say that Even Money is in the same league as Crash; frankly, it isn't. But it does aspire to similar heights as far as impact, and especially as far as casting. Most of these types of films have impressive casts, but Even Money might have one of the most impressive. The redoubtable Forest Whitaker returns (this is his fourth or fifth film of this type) and proves his usual excellent self. Kim Basinger, Danny De Vito and Tim Roth bring very strong performances as well. Kelsey Grammer, Jay Mohr, Ray Liotta and Nick Cannon round out the cast; all of them are more than adequate. It's hard to say where Even Money falls short of its counterparts. I think films like Crash and Love, Actually surpass it because their respective themes (racism and love) are more universal than the theme of gambling, plus they both contain more moments of cheerfulness and/or hope than Even Money does. Similarly, Vantage Point and Rendition have a much higher thrill and excitement factor than Even Money does. Despite its fairly high-powered cast, Even Money belongs largely in the same category as The Air I Breathe, Fragments and Powder Blue, where the characters and their motivations are the films' driving forces. As you may know if you've read my reviews of those last three films, making that category of film work well is by no means a guarantee. Some of them manage it masterfully and others fall flat. Even Money falls somewhere in between. It has several very moving moments, and a couple of nail-biters as well. It also has at least two characters that audiences can to relate to very easily, which made it more watchable than it would have been otherwise. But Even Money is a depressing movie. Yes, it is about character connection, but it is also about lives being ruined, and that's never fun to focus on for too long. To be honest, if the film had been any longer, slower, or less hopeful, it would probably have been as bad as Fragments turned out to be. Fortunately, it was none of those things, and it did end much more hopefully than I expected it to. So while I would recommend several of the interesting-connection films over this one, if you like that type of movie as much as I do, Even Money is worth a viewing.

all star line up, good story but the film lacked feeling, although it ended on a bit of a downer. dont think you'll see this in ma box

Probably too complex for the mass-multiplex, a watchable multi-faceted morality tale.

4/10: Strong performances from a strong cast. Though the story and the pace of the movie could've been better.

Interesting movie, good watch. Weird at times, and a tad slow moving, but an okay movie. It wasn't all that bad. Good performances all around. Shows how money, greed and ignorance can initially screw you over, big time.