Rounders 2!

I have a friend John who works at Miramax and gets a chance to read some upcoming scripts. He got a chance to read Rounders 2, which is slated to begin shooting late this year. The film sounds very disappointing on many angles, and, according to John, who plays a little poker, the writers knew little about poker except the jargon.

The story starts in Las Vegas, of course, with Mike McDermott again going through many of the same plot developments. He again shows very poor game selection as he did in the first. Mike's first night in town, he plays a no-limit game for all his roll against Johnnie Chan, Doyle Brunson, Phil Helmuth, and some other guy who's a professional. He loses his whole stack to Chan that first night, and again gives a soliloquy about how he shouldn't have done that.

Anyway, he becomes a railbird for a few months, and some other stuff happens. He meets some rich homosexual guy who stakes him for a big game against the big boys again. But the rich guy wants something in return. He has some love affair with a blackjack dealer woman. One of the suspenseful parts is not being sure whether his girlfriend is really a girl.

I won't give away much more, cause my friend John could get in trouble for letting out this info. But here are some of the best lines, according to John:


Mike, as Johnnie Chan continually rolls over him: "I'm getting tired of looking at your nuts."


Chan, recalling Mike's punk-ass move in the first movie: "You pulled a hit and run like Halle Berry, you little bitch."


Mike, in a seductive way, as he is teaching his new girlfriend how to play hold'em: "69, that's my favorite way to start."


Mike, as he loses his roll again in the toughest game he can find: "You know, I should really pick my games better. This is getting ridiculous."


Some other disappointing notes about the film: Matt Damon refused to play the part, citing some reservations about the script. Instead, Freddy Prinze, Jr. is taking the lead. I don't know about this choice. I really can't imagine that little guy playing poker above nickel, dime, quarter. But that's Hollywood for you.