I am only giving this film a 6 as I found it rather dull, and having never played Monopoly the inference to the game went right over my head. Instead I found myself wondering what the film would have been like with Jack Nicholson playing the extroverted Jason, and Bruce Dern as David. As a primer for actors, which is what the movie seemed to be, more than an entertainment for an audience, it would have been interesting to see a back-to-back version with the roles reversed.
Certainly, the film had the same downbeat theme as "The Last Detail" which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the setting of the off-season seaside town added to the bleak atmosphere. There is nothing more depressing than a sea coast resort in winter. I kept wishing that David would tell his brother to get lost and go back to Philly. The characters, a petty crook and two women of no fixed abode were pathetic losers and, with the exception of David, living in a fantasy of their own making. At least David asked some down to earth questions once in a while. The bullying user, Jason, really got on my nerves - his "everyone else is there to serve my needs" attitude made me cringe, especially the way he turned on people who did not share his "vision".
Certainly, the film had the same downbeat theme as "The Last Detail" which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the setting of the off-season seaside town added to the bleak atmosphere. There is nothing more depressing than a sea coast resort in winter. I kept wishing that David would tell his brother to get lost and go back to Philly. The characters, a petty crook and two women of no fixed abode were pathetic losers and, with the exception of David, living in a fantasy of their own making. At least David asked some down to earth questions once in a while. The bullying user, Jason, really got on my nerves - his "everyone else is there to serve my needs" attitude made me cringe, especially the way he turned on people who did not share his "vision".