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Deal
MGM


7.2

based on 9 reviews
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based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language, sexual content and brief drug use

Starring Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Bret Harrison, Gary Grubbs, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Tilly, and Maria Mason

Set against the world of high stakes poker, DEAL follows the story of Alex Stillman, a cocky, hotshot, card-playing senior at Yale University. Alex dreams of becoming a professional Texas Hold'em poker player but does not yet have the skill to master the table. Fortunately for him, a chance encounter introduces Alex to retired poker legend, Tommy Vinson. Tommy was at the top of his game twenty years ago but gave it all up in order to save his family. Upon meeting Alex, Tommy realizes he can regain his own self-confidence, pride and a poker championship title by turning Alex into his protege. The two pair up and master every tournament they enter. The winning streak and friendship between the two is eventually thwarted by the interference of a Las Vegas call girl, Michelle. The pair eventually part ways and separately prepare for the World Poker Tour. Only one will take home the championship title. (MGM)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Gil Cates Jr. Mark Weinstock
DIRECTED BY:	Gil Cates Jr.
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 19, 2008 Theatrical: April 25, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	86 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

ReelViews James Berardinelli

There's no compelling reason to see Deal. Everything it offers is familiar to the extent where even though it's not a remake, it feels like one.

LA Weekly Tim Grierson

When you're working with clearly conventional material, it helps to attack it from a cockeyed angle or at least adopt a gritty, lived-in urgency, but Deal is fatally earnest.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The main pleasure of this high-stakes-poker drama is watching a septuagenarian Burt Reynolds effortlessly revive his 70s screen persona as a strutting paragon of male shrewdness and sexuality.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Deal doesn't really care about the characters as much as it does the World Poker Championships, where Tommy and Alex end up. Once we get there the movie becomes interesting because Cates understands the game and its dramas a lot better than he understands people and theirs.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

The dull production obviously sees itself as an updated "Cincinnati Kid" for the World Poker Tour set, but the end result and its characters have all the originality and dramatic depth of a TV telecast.

Variety John Anderson

Public fascination with Texas Hold 'em and other poker variations will likely bolster B.O., though more discriminating auds may choose to pass.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Moving slowly these days, Reynolds does less than no acting in this role, and he’s still the best thing in Deal.

Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen

The direction by Gil Cates Jr. is inept at best, and the script by Cates and Marc Weinstock seems to operate under the assumption that trafficking in flabby clichés -- the kindly call girl, the scrappy youngster, the angry dad -- will somehow smooth over the underdeveloped characters.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

To think that a semi-major studio financed a production this low-rent and listless is amazing: Since when did MGM start making student films?

The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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Deal MGM

Deal
MGM