Going for Broke

Delta Burke plays a compulsive gambler, and Gerald McRaney her husband, as in real life, in "Going for Broke."

The film shows the step by step deterioration of a woman's life when she starts betting at the local casino. She borrows from the foundation for which she works, borrows from family, and eventually gambles the grocery money. Even when she wins, she loses, because she can't stop.

The story holds one's interest and one can't help but feel sorry and frustrated for the character as she digs herself in deeper and deeper, neglecting her children, husband, and job. The story is extra sad because, of course, this happens to people every day due to one addiction or another.

Burke, McRaney, and the rest of the cast do an impressive job.

What a movie! This intelligently written, beautifully acted made-for-TV movie packs a powerful punch. I was riveted from beginning to end and almost every emotion a viewer could have was tapped. Delta Burke was so outstanding that without saying a word, her body language and facial expressions conveyed what her character was thinking and feeling perfectly. She deserves an Emmy. I urge everyone to watch this movie on Lifetime when it's replayed. I promise, you won't be sorry.

I watched this movie with my mother and loved it. I recently taped it because of the outstanding job that it did in addressing a serious issue. In this movie Laura Bancroft's life began to spiral dangerously out of control due to a severe addiction to gambling. When she started neglecting her husband and her kids to gamble she was just an addict. When she resorted to stealing to bankroll her habit she became a full blown junkie. It seemed that as the movie progressed her problem only got worse. In the end gambling not only destroyed her life but the lives of everyone around her. It just goes to show just how destructive any kind of addiction can be.

If I had watched this movie five years ago, I would have thought it was extraordinarily well written, directed, and acted, but I would have thought the plot was unbelievable. After all, how on earth could an upper-middle-class mom and career woman could ever fall into the grips of casino gambling addiction and throw her entire life away? Now, with a mother-in-law who has destroyed her family and is in financial ruin because of gambling, I realize that this movie is far more realistic than I could ever have guessed. Actually it gave me some insight into my mother-in-law's point of view (even though I still can't fully understand it). Outstanding, outstanding movie.

Splendid acting by all of the characters. Outstanding illustration of the consequences of compulsive gambling. Gambling must be viewed as entertainment, not as a means to earn money and to "win back what you have lost." It is easy to see how you can get seduced into the artificial atmosphere of the casino, and even more so how you can lose track of time at the slot machines, therefore neglecting your obligations, like how Laura put her children's lives in danger several times. This movie serves as a warning to how anyone can wake up one morning and discover that everything is lost due to gambling addiction. If just one person's life is turned around as a result of this excellent movie, if just one person decides to receive help, it is worth it.