One Last Ride (2003)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Tony Vitale

Writer:

Patrick Cupo (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

He's just placed the biggest bet of all... his life.

Plot:

An emotionally gripping look at a man's personal battle to end a self-destructive path of compulsive gambling. |

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Patrick Cupo	...	Michael (as Pat Cupo)
Robert Davi	...	Father
Chazz Palminteri	...	Tweat
Anita Barone	...	Gina
Jack Carter	...	Sid
Joe Marinelli	...	Carmine
Mario Roccuzzo	...	Charlie Figs
Tracey Walter	...	Nicky
Tony Lee	...	Richie
Lana Parrilla	...	Antoinette
Candice Azzara	...	Gina's Mother
Charles Durning	...	Mr. Orlick
Josh Hutcherson	...	Joey
Annie Abbott	...	Aunt Margaret
Ossie Beck	...	Waiter (as Ossie Cohen)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief violence.

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

July Street Entertainment

Quotes:

Tweat: [to Richie] This food is disgusting. What do I pay this cook for? Why did I ever take over this restaurant?
[to Michael]
Tweat: ... I don't know how your father raised you. But where I come from, when you borrow money, you pay it back on time. The only reason why I didn't let Richie rip your legs off the last couple of months is because Fig stood up for you. Otherwise, you'd be walking in here on stumps.
[to Gina]
Tweat: ... I could bounce your husband's check against the wall. Forty-one thousand dollars, plus three months interest... I want the whole thing by midnight, twelve sharp tonight - or else Doctor Richie here is gonna give you *and* your husband a c-section.

Coming to terms with gambling addiction.

The production qualities of this film are obviously tailor made for TV. The hard edges of the descent into the depths of gambling addiction have all been smoothed off. That's not to say the situations and predicaments are unrealistic. There's no brutal violence, but some hard core language. No sex, substance abuse or slimy cohorts either.

All the characters seem like upstanding citizens, including the restaurateur/loan shark. It feels like a New York story that got moved to the mid-west. Jewish and Italian characters throughout. It's a fairly fast-paced film that takes place over the course of less than a week. Very linear, with no sub-plots other than a marriage that crumbles suddenly when the wife discovers how bad his addiction has become.

Maybe the best part is the lack of a fairy-tale ending. No winning the "big one" and paying off debts and starting new. Instead there's a more realistic ending of a promise to never gamble again, and an agreement that separation might be the best thing. For that, it beats almost every Hollywood gambling movie. No getting off scott-free, but not everyone has to die either.

Watchable, and believable, but nothing special. More of a drama than an action film.