Change Your Image
charlie-mcadams
Reviews
House of Games (1987)
unbelievable!
SPOILERS As another poster here has written , maybe I too have seen too many "con" movies and wasn't one bit surprised by the "big con" in this movie. I was however completely bowled over by the writers insistence that the viewer must be incredibly dim to believe that the psychiatrist was so utterly naive and easily manipulated.
A lot of things in this movie didn't make sense to me. For instance , we are supposed to believe that these con men are on the top of their game , true professionals , she should also have to believe this. I would expect this to be intrinsic to the plot , she must be completely taken in by them. However she "believes" , that the guy used a loaded water pistol , she "believes" that the guy they try to sting is an undercover cop but also was stupid enough to talk loudly on his walkie talkie , one door away from the bad guys .... AND leave the door open while doing so , finally she "believes" that they just left 80,000 dollars in cash behind (at a murder scene)!
Having said all that maybe they are THAT stupid , I mean the day after conning her , they decide to meet up and split the money between them ..... what venue do they choose? a secluded motel? a hotel room ? someones house/apartment? Nope , why not split the cash in a bar , one which she has visited before. She manages to (surprisingly easily) sneak in a back door and back out again , without being seen , but in between this overhear a load of criminals talking loudly about their latest scam.
Believable?
There are just too many holes in this movie , the big con was so obvious it was embarrassing.... from little questions like " would a guy at a poker game really be expected to take a check off of someone only ONE other person knew" to the eternal "why do people in movies always leave their car keys in their car " (for their get-away from the murder scene).
Am I missing something here , for people to say this was an intriguing plot makes me feel slightly uneasy!