A 2003 American neo-noir crime thriller written and directed by Damian Nieman that follows a group of hustlers (Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, and Jamie Foxx) attempting to set up "The Dean" (Sylvester Stallone), a legendary card shark.
The movie also stars Melanie Griffith, Dina Merrill, Hal Holbrook, Patrick Bauchau, Bo Hopkins, and Roger Guenveur Smith.
It was released on April 25, 2003.
This film contains examples of:
- Card Sharp: The Dean, Vernon, and Larry. Larry tries to cheat a poker game only to lose his mob boss's money (and shortly thereafter his life). The game was a con to steal the boss's money. The Dean and Vernon each use their skills in the film's final hand, with Vernon's three Jack's losing to Dean's three Queens. It's a con designed to bankrupt Vernon's partners Tiffany and Frank, who had each betrayed him in different ways.
- The Con:
- Small-time hustler Larry hooks up with crew Tiffany, Charlie, and Vernon. The plan is to have Larry win big on Vernon's crooked deals so no one will suspect Larry of cheating. Larry gets impatient and on his own crooked deal gets $100,000 in the pot, including money that belongs to Larry's mobster boss, and loses. The whole thing turns out to be a scam by the entire game to take Larry's boss's money.
- In the film's climactic final game, Vernon is going up against legendary underground player The Dean, who he discovers is using a marked deck. On the final hand he deals the Dean Kings and Queens with one Queen in the hole and himself two Jacks with a seven in the hole. With $2,000,000 in the pot at showdown, Vernon switches his hole seven for a Jack for three-of-a-kind. However, the Dean has switched out his whole King for a Queen to make a higher three-of-a-kind. The next day the Dean and Vernon meet up to split the cash. The whole thing was a scheme between them to rip off Charlie and Tiffany.
- Hustling the Mark: Happens twice:
- Small-time hustler Larry hooks up with crew Tiffany, Charlie, and Vernon. The plan is to have Larry win big on Vernon's crooked deals so no one will suspect Larry of cheating. Larry gets impatient and on his own crooked deal gets $100,000 in the pot, including money that belongs to Larry's mobster boss, and loses. The whole thing turns out to be a scam by the entire game to take Larry's boss's money.
- In the climactic final game, Vernon is going up against legendary underground player The Dean, who he discovers is using a marked deck. In the final hand he deals the Dean Kings and Queens with one Queen in the hole and himself two Jacks with a seven in the hole. With $2,000,000 in the pot at showdown Vernon switches his hole seven for a Jack for three-of-a-kind. However, the Dean has switched out his hole King for a Queen make a higher three-of-a-kind. The next day, the Dean and Vernon meet up to split the cash. The whole thing was a scheme between them to rip off Charlie and Tiffany.
- The Magic Poker Equation: Subverted twice.
- Mechanic Larry deals himself four nines and jams the pot up to $100,000 only to lose to four tens. The entire card game is an elaborate con to steal Larry's money.
- The Dean and Vernon each manipulate the cards in their final hand with both sides knowing the Dean is using a marked deck. Vernon deals the Dean two pair with one half of one pair in the hole. He deals himself a pair of jacks with a 7 in the hole. At showdown he flips over a Queen for a higher set and $2,000,000 pot. The game was a con between the Dean and Vernon to rip off Vernon's partners Tiffany and Charlie, who had each betrayed Vernon.
