The Winner

The Winner, eh? So many opportunities for cheap shots. I must be strong. Adapted by Wendy Riss from her own stage play, this unfunny comedy (or was it a tedious drama? hard to say, really) concerns an extraordinarily lucky gambler named Phil (Vincent D'Onofrio) and the various sleazy Las Vegas denizens who want to use him for their own ends-most notably a tacky lounge singer played by co-producer Rebecca DeMornay. Vigorously directed by Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy), who tries every unorthodox trick in the desperate filmmaker's book to pump some life into the stale shenanigans in Riss' shrill script, it remains watchable only because of his energy, and because there's a certain rubbernecking fascination in seeing a cast this talented left so utterly adrift. Only Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction), as a hyperactive minor gangster who becomes obsessed with Phil, finds the right tone; everybody else seems to think they're in The Magnificent Ambersons. This ain't even The Magnificent Seven. Not recommended. (M. D'Angelo)