Gambling and the movies have enjoyed a continuing relationship over the years. In the last three decades alone, the motion picture business has seen gambling and casinos play a huge part, not only in location settings, but as a huge part of the story. In this article, we thought we’d take a look at the films that have had their story influenced by gambling and had the narrative affected as a result.
The first film on our list is Rain Man, Barry Levinson’s 1988 Oscar-winner starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman where the two played the long lost Babbett brothers who are united after their father passes away, leaving the family’s fortune to elder sibling Raymond (Hoffman), an autistic savant. Charlie Babbett (Tom Cruise), who wasn’t even aware of his brother’s existence, and has only been left his father’s old car in his will. Learning of his brother’s massive $3 million windfall, Charlie hatches a plan to take full custody of Raymond and claim half of his inheritance. With this not being possible, the pair take to the road and end up in Las Vegas ,which is where the gambling element comes into play. Using Raymond’s tremendous ability to count cards, Charlie hoping to exploit his brother’s skill and win lots of money. Of course, his cheating is instantly discovered by bosses at the casino and the pair are ejected, but the blackjack scenes are imperative to the story and work wonderfully.
A similar plot-line is used in a film released twenty years later, Todd Phillips’ adult comedy The Hangover. With the mother of all bachelor parties going horribly wrong, the three characters at the centre of the story, Phil Wenneck, Stu Price and Alan Garner (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) run into trouble with a local gangster named Mr. Chow and end up owing him $80,000. With no idea as to how to get the cash together – and with their mate, the groom, missing and the wedding due to take place the following day, Phil and Stu use Alan’s jaw-dropping ability at blackjack at one of Las Vegas’s top 10 casinos, an escape that sees them land $82,000 for the ransom for the safe return of their friend.
Finally, a film that ends our list is the very funny Last Vegas starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen. The film, released in 2013, is a comedy set entirely in Las Vegas revolving around four life-long friends who get back together for a friend’s bachelor party in Sin City. There’s tons of gambling and party exploits littered throughout the film, but the great thing about the film is that it is almost entirely set in Las Vegas. Using locations like the Aria Resort and Casino and the MGM Grand. There are also some wonderful scenes shot on the famous strip, including the area outside the most famous section of it – the water display in front of the Bellagio.
Take a look at each of the film’s we’ve mentioned. We’re sure you’ll agree, if you haven’t seen them, that they all use gambling and casino set scenes to enhance the plot and the engross the viewer more into the narrative.
