Big Picture Big Sound

Will Not Be Your Favorite

Many years ago I was sitting in the back of a philosophy class in Queens College. I was probably daydreaming when a rather big guy leaned over to me and pointed to a piece of paper on my desk and asked me if it was the program for Roosevelt Raceway, which it was. Roosevelt Raceway was a harness track on Long Island that has since been replaced by a mall, because as we all know, we don't have enough malls.

He went by the name of Dink and we became degenerate gambling buddies. Well, maybe not quite degenerate, but pretty close to it. We eventually became roommates and he switched from gambling to bookmaking. I later became his accountant. No, I didn't break any legs. I just figured out who won or lost and how much, every day. In return, he used my apartment for his business and paid my rent and bills. With that money I was able to get a computer degree from NYU.

What does this all have to do with a film review? The answer is that a young lady who later worked for Dink wrote a book about her life, with a lot of emphasis on her times with Dink. The book has now been released as a film and my review of it is as untainted as I can possibly make it, considering that I know most of the characters.

Dink (Bruce Willis) is a successful professional gambler who lives in Vegas at the beginning of our story. His lovely wife, Tulip (Catherine Zeta Jones), is portrayed as an attractive but vain woman who genuinely cares for Dink but there is at least a hint of this being a business arrangement as well. Into Dink's life walks Beth (Rebecca Hall), a young, cute and ditzy broad who has an affinity and aptitude for numbers. Soon she is working for Dink and doing very well. Tulip is not happy about it because she suspects that Beth is moving in on her turf, but a gift of a facelift quiets her down.

Unfortunately, not much else happens of interest. The potential love between Dink and Beth never rings true, so there is no love story to grab onto. Some of the other stories and characters also don't work too well. They feel clunky and forced. Willis does a decent job in his role and a few of the others are passable, but Hall never captures anything of note here. She is neither someone to admire or dislike and that is a bad spot for your central character.

I kind of enjoyed "Lay the Favorite" but I was watching people I know being portrayed. My guess is that, if you are not part of this, you might only find it tedious and disjointed, and once in a while even unbelievably unreal. This one is probably not worth your gamble.