Deal (2008)

3% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
41% of users liked it
(25,725 ratings)

A hot-shot college card player and a retired poker legend team up to take Sin City for all its worth, only to find themselves going toe to toe in the ultra-high-stakes World Poker Tour. Alex Stillman (Bret Harrison) is a Yale senior with a knack for Texas Hold 'Em. But while Alex dreams of the day… More A hot-shot college card player and a retired poker legend team up to take Sin City for all its worth, only to find themselves going toe to toe in the ultra-high-stakes World Poker Tour. Alex Stillman (Bret Harrison) is a Yale senior with a knack for Texas Hold 'Em. But while Alex dreams of the day he'll be able to dominate the tables out in Las Vegas, he hasn't mastered the art of the cards just yet. Alex's luck begins to change, however, after a chance encounter with legendary poker player Tommy Vinson (Burt Reynolds). Tommy gave up gambling 20 years ago in hopes that he could save his family. He recognizes the potential in Alex, and he's beginning to regain his confidence after two decades of maintaining a low profile. Alex agrees to become Tommy's protégé, and together the pair wins every tournament they enter. But Alex's attraction to beautiful Las Vegas call girl Michelle (Shannon Elizabeth) has caused his attention shift away from the tables, and that distraction has opened up a deep chasm between the emerging talent and the undisputed master. Later, after Alex and Tommy call off their partnership, they find themselves on opposite sides of the table at the prestigious World Poker Tour. Who will take the top prize? Will it be the old pro who promised he would never gamble again or the newcomer who learned all of his tricks from the true master of the trade? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Gil Cates Jr.
Written By: Gil Cates, Marc Weinstock
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Apr 25, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Aug 20, 2008
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
They've got to do something else with these poker movies.
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
Reynolds doesn't convey any of the lightning bolt insouciance that made him arguably the greatest movie star of the '70s and '80s (really) but rather just stands there.
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
Success isn't in the cards for this plodding poker drama.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Deal could use a touch of the slickness that's making the blackjack drama 21 such a greasy hit.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
A product of the recent poker craze, this can't compare with the movie that helped launch it, John Dahl's tense Rounders.
John Anderson, Variety
Deal is perhaps too briskly paced: The narrative moves along a bit too fleetingly for any genuine character development.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
An embarrassingly toothless and endlessly boring story about characters we barely get to know doing things that are more exciting than they make it seem.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
As a piece of entertainment, it's like being dealt a pair of twos: You could certainly do worse, but ...
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
It's not the cards you play but the people . . . which is why poker movies (in this case Texas Hold'em) are far more interesting than many sports movies
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
so gossamer thin that it's hard to feel strongly about it one way or the other
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
There is so little originality here and so much faking it that it hardly justifies critical analysis.
Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner
The outcome is never in question, but for fans of the game, even simulated action is preferable to perfunctory drama.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
Highly derivative, embarrassingly hollow.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
There is more complexity in a sub-par episode of the Teletubbies than in anything to be found in Deal
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal
There are plenty of movies that prove entertaining despite their familiarity; this isn't one of them.
Alex Markerson, E! Online
You've got to know when to walk away from a movie like this: right away, and that's only if you can't run.
M. K. Terrell, Christian Science Monitor
A raft of pros appear as themselves, but this story will likely seem less exciting than an actual competition.
Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
Thoroughly predictable in every way including an obvious ending that tries unsuccessfully to bluff the audience, Deal feels fake and trite.
Brian Tallerico, The Deadbolt
About now is when a critic would throw in a reference to a low poker hand to compare it to, but Deal can't even rise to a pair of twos.
Daniel M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
...a movie making a brief stop at local theaters on its way to DVD bargain bins and cable showings at two in the morning.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Fascade F

Another card shark movie...where the aging teacher eventually takes the student to school...in more ways than just cards...it is good whether you like the card game of poker or not...see this it is a good watch!
ken j

Deal centers around a aging poker player played really good by a ageing Burt Reynolds who never fullfilled his dream of winning the big one and the young kid just out of college he takes under his wing showing him the ins and outs of the poker world that is untill student and teacher… More
Deal centers around a aging poker player played really good by a ageing Burt Reynolds who never fullfilled his dream of winning the big one and the young kid just out of college he takes under his wing showing him the ins and outs of the poker world that is untill student and teacher go up against each other in a winner take all world series of poker. really good movie worth checking out for those that enjoyed Rounders