THE REWATCHABLES · September 11, 2018
A 1998 drama / indie directed by John Dahl, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
Mike loses his money early, establishing the world and the stakes with the famous 'if you can't spot the sucker' voiceover.
Opening minutesThe comeback run is cited as pure adrenaline and one of the movie’s most rewatchable stretches.
About 16 minThe Chan hand is treated as a classic poker-movie moment and a huge cultural reason the film stuck.
About 16 minA tense, scary side trip that shows the movie’s best thriller instincts.
About 16 minUsed to demonstrate Mike’s sharp reading skills and to create a Hollywood-smart moment.
About 16 minThe breakup-and-reset scene is singled out as the emotional ignition for the movie’s second act.
About 16 minA strong argument scene about risk, grinding, and making a living.
About 48 minThe last heads-up battle is one of the movie’s signature payoffs, even if the poker logic is debated.
About 56 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsYes, it is the movie’s biggest flaw; the tell is too obvious and Mike should have caught it sooner.
Sean FennesseyAlso skeptical, though he acknowledges the movie is so detailed that the obvious tell stands out more.
Bill SimmonsHe probably should have just kept crushing Teddy instead of revealing the tell.
Sean FennesseyIt may have worked as a mind game to rattle Teddy and break his confidence.
Bill SimmonsShe is a bad, unnecessary wet blanket and the movie should have had Mike hook up with Famke Janssen instead.
Sean FennesseyThe role was expanded by the studio, making her less essential and harder to defend.
Bill SimmonsMaybe, but it also may have been right on time as a cultural touchstone.
Sean FennesseyThinks the timing was strong enough and that the movie’s long-tail cult success mattered more.
Argues the film slowly became a cult favorite through cable exposure and repeat viewing.
Opening minutesSays the movie’s poker lingo and hand specificity are a huge reason it works.
Opening minutesCalls the opening bust-out one of the best ways a movie can draw you in.
About 16 minLikes the scene as a classic demonstration of Mike’s intelligence.
About 16 minSays the apartment move-out sequence is his favorite because it triggers the film’s final momentum.
About 16 minInsists Damon is perfect for the role and hard to replace.
About 16 minSays Norton is almost uniquely suited to play Worm’s filth and dishonesty.
About 16 minTreats Malkovich’s performance as one of the movie’s main victories.
About 24 minSays the character was boosted by the studio and the result is a weak, unnecessary part.
About 32 minThinks the ending works even while nitpicking the logic around the tell and the chip count.
About 56 minSays Chan is one of the movie’s biggest winners and a poker legend on the level of the sport’s icons.
About 48 minSpends a long stretch imagining an unrealized sequel and a future-life version of Mike McD.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceThe movie is framed as a film that was not an immediate hit but grew through cable, word of mouth, and rewatchability.
Opening minutesThey admire how accurately the movie captures poker talk, table behavior, and the emotional swings of the game.
Opening minutesThey argue Damon’s early career depended on him playing likable guys who are also dishonest or morally slippery.
About 8 minThe episode situates Rounders in a broader late-90s cluster of major young actors and the return of the movie-star system.
About 32 minThey value the film’s seedy but exciting New York atmosphere and its portrait of grinders and hustlers.
About 32 minThe hosts say the movie has only a 65% Rotten Tomatoes score and note that critics were strangely lukewarm to it.
About 8 minThe Countings Crows song at the end is described as not being on the album in the way Bill remembered.
About 48 min · medium confidenceMalkovich reportedly got the Russian accent by listening to a Russian woman read his lines first.
About 40 min · medium confidenceThe law school scenes were filmed at Rutgers University.
About 40 minThe original script reportedly had Joe in only three scenes.
About 32 minThe original version of the script had Mike McDermott facing Phil Hellmuth instead of Johnny Chan.
About 40 minMatt Damon and Edward Norton reportedly played the $10,000 buy-in championship event in 1998.
About 48 min · medium confidenceDoyle Brunson allegedly knocked Damon out with pocket kings vs. pocket aces in real life.
About 48 min · medium confidenceUsed as a comparison point for earlier poker movies and their implausible hands.
Opening minutesCited as a classic poker movie with absurd, unrealistic hands.
Opening minutesUsed as an example of a movie that also became a slow-burn cult rewatchable.
About 24 minMentioned as another film that slowly gained word-of-mouth status.
About 24 minReferenced as a more recent example of a movie that initially underperformed and then became a thing.
About 24 minUsed as part of Matt Damon’s early career run with similar energy and persona.
About 8 minCited as another Damon role in the same dishonest-charming mode.
About 8 minUsed as part of Edward Norton’s early peak run.
About 24 minSean argues this is Malkovich’s apex mountain.
About 48 minMentioned while discussing sports-related cameos and Bob Cousy.
About 48 min · medium confidenceReferenced as a Damon role that felt off compared with his other characters.
About 16 minSuggested reading for poker and World Series of Poker history.
About 56 minUsed both as a tonal comparison and as a possible future home for Rounders-style characters.
About 24 minReferenced in Damon’s opening voiceover line about feeling alive.
Opening minutesUsed in the discussion of wet-blanket girlfriend archetypes.
About 32 minThey repeatedly identify career peaks for actors and filmmakers, often disagreeing playfully.
About 48 minThe hosts keep circling Malkovich’s accent and quoting him, treating it as an iconic bit.
About 24 minBill builds a Mount Rushmore of frustrating sports-movie girlfriends.
About 32 minBill improvises an elaborate sequel involving Damon, Affleck, Famke Janssen, Heather Graham, and more.
About 1:12They repeatedly imagine alternate casting for Damon, Norton, and Joe.
About 16 minThe episode turns into a long string of quoted poker lines from the movie.
About 8 min“let's play some fucking cards”About 16 min
“Pay this man his fucking money”About 48 min
“If you can't spot the sucker”Opening minutes
“I will splash the pot whenever”About 56 min
“Kids got alligator blood”About 1:04
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Rounders, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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