This movie was a bit hard to find...Mainly because the title was changed without my knowledge...When I first saw it on cable TV...It was simply called "Vig"...But it wasn't until I found it on Netflix under the title "Money Kings" did I realize it was the same film...
Either way...The performances for the most part were absolutely wonderful...Peter Falk was great as a bookie working for the Mob and looking forward to retirement...Timothy Hutton was very convincing as an alcoholic unemployed father who tries too hard to win a quick buck at gambling to support his wife and children...
Tyne Daly turns in a very solid performance as an understanding wife to Peter Falk's character...And there were even a couple of actors who made good credible sideline characters...Frank Vincent as a debt collector...And Colm Meany as a police detective...I also liked the brief cameo by Tony Sirico as the head of the mafia organization...
The real stand out acting was done beautifully by Lauren Holly who delivered what was by far...The best performance in the movie...She played the wife to Timothy Hutton's character...A struggling Mother working two jobs to makes ends meet...Not only is she a hard working Mom trying to take care of her children...But also an amazing wife willing to do whatever it takes to keep her marriage from falling apart...She easily stole the show every time she was on screen...
The only major problem with this film was the casting of Freddie Prince Jr. as the new young mafia persona looking to take over Peter Falk's booking operation...I can see now why he does so many romantic comedies...Because those are the only kinds of films he can do where he can at least come off as a somewhat credible actor...
Beyond that...This was a pretty solid film with great acting and a great story...And in my honest opinion...It should have received a lot more attention than it did...Thanks to Netflix...I can say that I have a great deal of respect for this film now than when I had seen it before...
And That's All There Is Too It...
