Win It All Review – A Netflix Movie Review About Gambling
Win It All Review – A Movie About Gambling Addiction
Win It All is a comedy based around a desperate gambler that came out in 2017 and starred Jake Swanson. We have to admit that the film is certainly not one of the greatest gambling movies. One reason is that it uses the same tropes as countless other gambling movies you’ve seen before. You know the story of the desperate gambler whose life is spiralling out of control. All thanks to poor decisions, loss and gambling debts. Having said that, it’s not an awful gambling movie. The comedy does have its moments. Today we thought we’d do a review of the movie, but, as a warning, there will be some light spoilers ahead.
Win It All: A Problem Gambler
The protagonist, played by Jake Swanson, is called Eddie Garrett. He’s a compulsive gambler who has a job at a parking lot. This job is purely a means of funding his casino bankroll. Like many problem gamblers, he claims he’s not a gambling addict. Nevertheless, Eddie is the type of player who goes to casinos to win the jackpot every night and ends up leaving with empty pockets. One day at home, he wakes up to find Michael, played by Jose Antonio Garcia, sitting in his kitchen with a bag. We should point out that Michael is the local hard man and thug.
Too Tempting An Offer
It turns out that Michael is going to be going to prison for a while. He produces a mysterious duffle bag and asks Eddie to take care of it while he’s away. You can see where this plot is going even if you were a blind man. Michael has a single condition for Eddie. That is he should not open the bag or ask any questions about it. Michael promises that when he gets out he will come and collect the bag. And bring Eddie a $10,000 payment for his corporation. Of course, a few days later Eddie falls to temptation. He opens the bag to find a large sum of money.
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Win It All: Sticky Fingers
Well, it doesn’t take long for Eddie to start diving into this cash and going off to the casino. But his luck seems to be changing and he manages to win some money. Afterwards, he invited all his friends to a bar. There he meets a pretty nurse called Eva who’s played by the Mexican actress Aislinn Derbez. But before the night is out he hits the casino gaming tables again, though this time ends up on a losing streak. By the time morning comes around, and after the casino has kicked him out, he has a debt to the duffle bag of over $20,000.
Realising he’s in trouble, he goes to see his brother Ron and ask for help. Ron recommends that he starts counselling for his gambling addiction. At the same time, he leaves his job in the parking lot and starts working in a bar that’s run by his brother.
Eddie Gets A Regular Life Together
Eddie has realised that he will have around 6 months in order to pay back the cash from his new job. So he cleans himself up and gets down to working and being responsible. Luckily for him, Michael will not be coming out for some considerable time. The movie proceeds with Eddie working and becoming closer to Eva. But all the sunshine in his life goes out when he receives a call from Michael happily informing him that he will be a free man in a week’s time. As you can imagine, Eddie becomes desperate and so pressures his brother for a loan. But Ron refuses on the grounds that he thinks that Eddie will waste it at the casino.
The Hero’s Journey
Now Eddie is in deep trouble. Of course, being a problem gambler, he chooses the most foolish path to find the money. That’s right, he goes off to the casino to try and win something using more money from the duffle bag as his bankroll. Things do not go well and he not only gets drunk but manages to lose everything. Ever the optimistic gambler, he asked his friend Gene to get him entered into a high stakes jackpot poker game that’s taking place that evening. Eddie has decided that if he does lose, he’ll need to pack up and leave town. Well, Gene manages to get Eddie into the game. And once again, Eddie dips into the bag for the buy-in of $15,000.
Win It All: Surprise Ending
In some ways the poker played in the movie allows us to understand the tension, stress and pressure that a poker player must be under, let alone one who is deeply indebted to someone who will certainly do him some serious physical harm. During this game, Eddie is down nearly $30,000. With absolutely nothing to lose, he takes all the money from the bag and throws it onto the table. It’s at this point that his luck changes. He’s actually able to win enough to pay off his debts.
But ever the foolish gambler, in spite of Gene telling him he should go home, he continues gambling with his terrible jackpot winning strategies. Things take a turn for the worst and in a state of panic and high stress, Eddie has a heart attack and collapses to the floor. Because this is a movie review with only light spoilers, we will not tell you the end. But we should point out that it was an incredible and slightly mystifying surprise.
Win It All Film Details
First off you have to remember that this is a movie released on Netflix. As you know, they have a recognisable formula for most of their movies. The main takeaway is that, though most Netflix movie previews may give the impression that they are plot-driven, most of the movies are actually character-driven and rely very much on the actor choices made by the casting director. Having said that, the director and writer, Joe Swanburg has done a great job of creating an atmospheric and tense ambience around Eddie’s problems. That’s because this is a director who loves making use of improvisation which gives the movie a much greater feeling of spontaneity.
An Enjoyable Romp
So what did we like about the movie? Well, first off, we are happy that there were no special effects, silly CGI or other over exaggerations. There are no A-list actors appearing and many of the actors we have not seen before. But they all did a stellar job of selling the story as a comedy. For comedy, it’s important that the actors appear to be at ease. In truth, it may well be one of the best gambling movies ever shown on the streaming platform. Not surprisingly, it holds an 85% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic gives it a respectable 77/100 score.
Interesting Facts About the Win It All Movie
Probably one of the most interesting facts about the movie is that much of the conversations between the characters are improvised and not scripted at all. This is typical of a Joe Swanberg movie. He’s not fond of scripts and most of the writing will consist of acting guidelines and rough draughts. In some ways, this makes the movie a much harder proposition for many actors who like to have the words put into their mouths. Having to improvise whilst the cameras are rolling is not an easy task. To that end, all the actors deserve a great day of praise.
The initial movie was announced in 2015. But it wasn’t until 2017 that it was properly green-lit and went into production. One interesting tidbit is that many of the players who were at the poker table during the movie were real gamblers. These were found playing in casinos around the Chicago area. If you’re a poker player, then it may be interesting to you to see the gameplay techniques used within the film, especially in relation to poker tells and the player’s hands.
Gambling Activities in Netflix’s Win It All Movie
This brings us neatly onto the gambling scenes themselves. First, we should say that Win It All only has scenes from the game of poker. They are actually playing a variation of Texas Hold’em poker. For all you would-be casino players, this is the most popular card game in the world. Just look through many of the articles here on Jackpotfinder.com. You’ll find a huge amount of information about this exciting casino table jackpot game.
Play At The Casino Or Online?
One thing that’s very different from the old school land-based casino set-up you saw in the movie, and if you’re the type of player who enjoys gambling online, is that the bonus structure will be very different. Of course, going out to a real brick and mortar casino takes a considerable effort. Especially when compared to simply pulling out your phone and gambling at an online casino from the comfort of your own home. We suggest that you check out the welcome bonuses and other online incentives that are generously waiting for new players. An online casino like 32Red Casino has a generous welcome bonus for all new poker players of 200% Up to €1000!
Having said that, always take the time to read the terms and conditions of the website you wish to play on. As well as checking that they have a reputable gaming licence. This should be from a reputable licensing authority like the UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority.
Problem Gambling
One other point is that if you find yourself veering into the territory of problem gambling, then please don’t hesitate to reach out for help. All the organizations listed at the bottom of our splash page like Gamstop, Gamblers Anonymous and BeGambleAware, are there to help. You’ll find that all reputably licenced online gambling casinos will also have a huge number of tools to help you including self-exclusion. Remember that there’s no stigma or shame in searching for a solution. Today, all addictions are recognised as medical and health issues.
