7 Days to Vegas

The Sting, this movie is not. But it definitely was a guilty pleasure if you enjoy films with a plot twists and "gotchas" at the end. Van Patten stars as the narrator and main character in this ensemble cast of degenerate, quirky gamblers. These characters distract viewers along the journey towards the somewhat predictable ending. But despite knowing the destination, I still had a good time.

If this was actually presented as a reality show it would be a total disaster. But it is fiction "based on presumed real things some people might actually do" so for that it was at least fun to laugh at. It must have been written by a committee of wannabe writers/producers. What is real is that the concept makes it fun. How many times can two sides run a scam on each other? Many times. It was the only reason to watch this contrived accident. 5 stars is being generous. The fake quips about "what happened after/where are they now" lost at least 3 of their stars.

Duke (Vincent Van Patten) has his friendly poker game in his home in the Valley. They are a variety of Hollywood adjacent people. When their game gets robbed, Duke moves it to a higher-class Beverly Hills bar. Poker game shows start blowing up on TV. Duke attracts richer Hollywood types like arrogant director Sebastian (Ross McCall). Duke start making real money until a crooked private investor steals all his money. Sebastian cons him out of more money and steals his game. In frustration, he makes millions dollars bet with Sebastian that he could walk to Vegas in 7 days.

This is supposed to be inspired by true events. It certainly paints a realistic picture of the worst degenerate gamblers. They are ready to bet on anything at any moment. I love that they negotiate a detailed contract on the big bet. It is what degenerate gamblers do. I have to say that the final twist is obvious as soon as Sebastian picks the replacement. That loses the movie a bit at its climatic point. Otherwise, the 7 day bet is pretty compelling.

I've wasted an hour and a half on worse things. It had potential. With better acting and writing this would have a shot. Decent premise.

I thought there might be something worthwhile to see, based on the reviews, so I watched this whole, sorry movie. (at least there were some shots of the desert, which I like :) ) The acting is generally bad, and the plot is just not that believable. They tried to be a combination of "Oceans 11" and maybe "The Hangover", but didn't succeed in providing the entertainment of either. In typical Hollywood fashion, ample F-bombs were included, and a few semi-nudes; neither adding to the plot or value of the movie. Don't waste your time watching this. I can't believe it got funded!