SYNOPSIS
Bill (George Segal) doesn’t have much to lose; he’s recently single and will soon be unemployed. He meets his pal Charlie (Elliott Gould) in an LA card house, and the two pair up when they find they make an excellent gambling team. The two embark on a breakneck gambling spree, beginning at Charlie’s apartment that he shares with two hookers, then progressing to the racetracks and bars of LA, and onto the casinos of Reno. This narratively-loose comedy uses the real inhabitants of the gambling underworld as characters, and the final product is an episodic construction of random occurrences that are by turns trivial, weighty, and amusing. This impression of disconnection is underscored by director Robert Altman’s characteristically layered, rich sound, which creates a chaotic and authentic feel. Segal and Gould turn in believable performances as reckless compulsive gamblers whose thirst to win takes them all the way to the poker table of the legendary champion Amarillo Slim.
