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The much anticipated Aaron Sorkin poker flick Molly’s Game is set to premier in the United States on Christmas Day. It has begun to receive heavy promotion on television.
The ingredients are in place to make this the best poker film since Rounders, regularly cited among poker players as the best movie about the game. Molly’s Game will feature celebrities behaving badly, a busty hot poker host (that would be Molly Bloom), a seedy criminal element a la the Russian Mob and, of course, plenty of poker being played.
Molly Bloom, a talented skier denied the chance to compete in the Winter Olympics, begins running underground high stakes poker games with millions on the table and attendees the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Alex Rodriguez and – by Molly’s account at least – the “worst tipper”, “Spider Man” star Toby Maguire. One will likely see Maguire portrayed in a negative light here. The Observer once wrote a piece entitled “Four Ways Molly’s Game Pulverizes Toby Maguire”. Need we say more?
Molly was eventually taken down by 17 feds, placed on a year’s probation and fined $125,000. She ultimately wrote her memoirs for which the film is based off of: “Molly’s Game: from Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street Billionaires Boys’ Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker”.
Great news for fans of poker as early reviews on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes have Molly’s Game getting a high 90% positive reviews on their Tomatometer scale.
David Erlich of IndieWire writes: “A typically staccato and silver-tongued drama that boasts a zillion killer lines, at least two of the year's most exciting performances, and a rare understanding of the difference between power and pride.”
David Crow of Den of Geek writes: “It's a movie that flows as quickly as Sorkin's ratatatat dialogue, ever discarding and raising at a dizzying pace, while placing its real ace up the sleeve in plain sight. And her name is Jessica Chastain.”
And Fred Topel offered a short, but sweet, assessment: “The female Goodfellas”.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
