Gerry is a talented poker player, but his gambling habit is getting the best of him. Down on his luck and facing financial hardship, he teams up with a younger charismatic poker player named Curtis in an attempt to change his luck. As they gamble their way down South toward a legendary high-stakes poker game in New Orleans, the trip's highs and lows unveil the duo's true character and motivation, and an undeniable bond forms between them.
The movie is a snapshot collage of flyover America, but also, perhaps, an homage to the soon-to-be-lost world of brick-and-mortar gambling.
Independent Online (South Africa)
March 02, 2016
Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn floating down the Mississippi River to gamble and have fun. Should be entertaining, right? Well, it's more a grind than any kind of entertainment.
Ben Mendelsohn is amazing as the sick gambler, always willing to sink lower, and also Ryan Reynolds is magnificent and outstanding. [Full review in Spanish]
It's as if the Scarecrow and the Tin Man got lost and wandered down the Mississippi River, drinking and gambling and stumbling into and out of various troubles, not worrying about their brains or their hearts, just wishing for a little bit of luck.
... a meandering road movie through the byways of American characters who populate the card rooms and dice tables and racetracks, and an oddball buddy movie built on a chance encounter and an instant kinship between two losers gambling their lives away.
A loose, funky character study of two guys who can only frame their station as "can't win" and "can't lose," and can't really imagine a life that's anywhere in between.
