'7 Days to Vegas': Van Pattens Succeed in Making Fun Gambling Flick
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Disclaimer: Very mild spoilers contained herein.
Historically, the portrayal of gambling in films is undeniably on the darker side.
Typically, a character is at the end of his or her rope after a bad run, desperate to rebuild and needing a streak of good fortune to escape a seemingly tightening noose. Think Matt Damon in "Rounders" or Paul Newman in "The Hustler."
With "7 Days to Vegas", Vince Van Patten had a different goal.
"In that genre, most movies are very dark," he explained. "Some are very good, but that's not the gambling world that I know.
"I want to do something in the gambling world that I know, that has a lot of joy and fun and bigger-than-life characters. 'I don't want to run from them, I would rather hang out with them.' That's what we have in '7 Days to Vegas.'"
PokerNews attended the movie's premiere at Eclipse Theater in downtown Las Vegas, along with a full cast of poker's familiar faces — from players like Todd Brunson and Mike Matusow to industry standouts like Matt Savage and Mori Eskandani. Despite some flaws, the movie succeeds in creating an entertaining, light-hearted product showcasing the wacky and often comical world of prop betting.
Poker Not the Focus
Van Patten, the long-time World Poker Tour commentator, produced, co-wrote and starred in the film. He's a constant presence from start to finish, as "7 Days" makes heavy use of voice-overs to move the story along and tell the tale from the point-of-view of Duke Madson (Van Patten), a washed-up actor who becomes a profitable poker player and grows his home game until he's hosting Hollywood elites.
"It's loosely based on my story," he said.
As Van Patten told it, the idea for the movie had been lurking in his head for awhile, but what really set him in motion to get it made was when he went to see a movie about Hollywood.
"It missed the mark," said Van Patten, who declined to name the film. "It was very glamorous and should have been really interesting.
"My wife said, 'That's why you should do your movie about Hollywood, about your poker game.'"
The poker game definitely plays a key role in the early parts of the film, but don't think "Rounders" or "The Cincinnati Kid." "7 Days" doesn't get into the nitty gritty of Duke's poker grind. As top critic Richard Roeper wrote, one doesn't need to know a busted straight from a royal flush to understand what's going on.
Through the games, the audience meets the supporting cast, including Duke's brother Carl (real-life brother Jimmy Van Patten), the stereotypical Asian action junkie Wing (James Kyson), rumored mobster Angry Jim (Don Stark) and the villain, hotshot Hollywood director Sebastian (Ross McCall).
"It was about the craziness of the characters and these crazy prop bets"
The poker action is used simply as a device to establish characters and advance the plot. Given how tired these segments can be — is there a way to use poker hands in a movie that isn't played out or eyeroll-inducing at this point? — that's probably for the best.
According to co-writer Steve Alper, the movie script initially focused a bit more on the poker, but it evolved in a different direction.
"It was about the craziness of the characters and these crazy prop bets," he said.
Alper and Van Patten had worked together on 2017 film "The Guest House," which Alper also co-wrote, and Van Patten reached out about collaborating on "7 Days." When Alper evaluated where Van Patten was trying to go with the script, he liked that it wasn't another stereotypical poker movie about an up-and-coming grinder.
"I liked that it had a fresh angle to it, with the celebrity poker player," he said.
Walking to Vegas
Indeed, at the poker games, the gambling involves more than just cards as the audience is introduced to a new kind of bet: the prop bet. The eclectic characters engage in all manner of goofiness with dough on the line — sometimes literally, as in the case of a bet involving mass consumption of donuts.
Through that same bet, the "7 Days" audience sees the art of the hustle, which becomes another central theme in the film.
We won't spoil everything here, but after a series of clashes between Sebastian and Duke, the two characters throw down on a bet that calls for Madson to walk 280 miles from L.A. to Las Vegas in seven days.
Alper said the bet was initially a small part of the script, but over time, the "7 Days" team increased the role of the bet as producers realized it was the most interesting part of the movie. By the final draft, it dominates about half of the film.
Duke sets out on his epic journey, filmed more on location in spots like Palm Springs and Santa Clarita, according to Alper. Plenty of amusing hijinks ensue on the way en route to a bit of a twist ending that may have been inspired by a certain 90s classic.
Vince Van Patten told premiere audiences that "about 50%" of the movie was based on real events, but as befitting a film about hustlers, he declined to answer when pressed by PokerNews as to whether the big bet was rooted in fact or fiction.
"I can't say," he said with a smile. "There's a lot of real things that happened and a lot of fictitious things."
A Cult Classic?
WPT CEO Adam Pliska admitted he had some trepidation when his friend and colleague took on the ambitious project of producing a feature film. He said he prayed the film would be good so he could give Vince Van Patten an honest and positive review, and he was relieved he could offer exactly that.
"It's a great film," he said.
Certainly, the audience seemed to respond well. Brunson tweeted that it was a "guaranteed gambling cult classic."
That's a high bar, putting it in the same category as the likes of "Rounders," although to be fair, it might not be appropriate to compare them. It's doubtful Vince Van Patten had an inflation-adjusted $18.8 million to work with here, as he likely spent a fraction of the $12 million used in the 1998 classic.
If "Rounders" is a "never-ending string of boats," this effort is more a mix of flopped top pairs and some ace-high whiffs. Sebastian and side kick Angry Jim are a bit over the top at times, with their shouted lines causing me to wince more than laugh in some spots.
And I'm not going to lead any brigades of political correctness, but the film's treatment of women did make me cringe some. Female characters barely break double-digit lines, and about half of them come half-clothed. The Bechdel Test, it will not pass.
I also found the climax to be somewhat predictable, though to be fair, it was well set up and executed.
Overall, the film succeeds with a simple formula, one outlined by Alper: goofball characters and the silly antics surrounding their prop bets, which bring plenty of chuckles throughout.
"I want to do something in the gambling world that I know, that has a lot of joy and fun and bigger-than-life characters."
It helps greatly that the film doesn't take itself too seriously and keeps things moving, checking in at a tidy 92 minutes. Action — monetary and cinematic — never ceases, and I liked how the "7 Days" team, including director Eric Balfour, avoided getting bogged down in a poker movie.
Jimmy Van Patten echoed his brother's thoughts about the movie's goal, saying the brothers wanted to honor their fun-loving gambling roots that date from childhood games with their father, legendary actor Dick Van Patten.
"We want to dedicate this film to him," he said. "He taught us how to play poker and he taught us how to enjoy it."
The brothers did well translating that enjoyment into their film. True to the mission, they kept things light and easy to follow, and the end result is an amusing romp of prop-betting shenanigans as every character tries to stay on the right side of the hustle.
