Movie of the Week: Win it All

Alexa:  Low-key, character-driven indies are typically my jam, but “Win It All” was pretty hit or miss for me. The film reunites Jake Johnson with frequent collaborator Joe Swanberg, and it’s Johnson’s performance that truly carries the film for me. It’s an admirable showcase for his talents and charm beyond “New Girl,” when Eddie could easily have turned into nothing more than a rougher-around-the-edges Nick Miller without the fun roommates. And he’s complemented here by a couple of pretty stellar supporting players in Keegan-Michael Key and Joe Lo Truglio. But while Johnson and Swanberg’s previous film “Drinking Buddies” felt natural, smart and relatable, “Win It All” is hampered by uneven pacing that drags a little too much for a movie that clocks in at just under 90 minutes. The story also resolves a little too quickly and neatly for my taste, when Eddie hasn’t done much to convince us he’ll actually change his ways.

Joel: For a movie about accidentally losing $50,000 that belong to a criminal and having just a few days to get it back, this movie feels incredibly low stakes and low key. Part of that is the low budget, but most of it is the slow pace that the movie has, which for a movie that clocks in a less than ninety minutes, is saying something. On one hand, part of me really likes that. I like the fact that the movie takes time to focus on Eddie trying to do right by himself, put in the time, and do the hard work that needs to be done. I also like the way that the movie portrays his gambling addiction. I like that it’s portrayed as a genuine struggle for him, but that when he’s at the table, he can’t bring himself to walk away. It helps to give a reason behind his bad decisions without him acting out of character. At the same time the almost muted feel that goes through the whole movie makes it hard to have any sort of enthusiasm for the movie itself. Ultimately, some things happen and then the movie is over. I know that’s technically true of all movies, but when that’s one of the most descriptive ways you can talk about a particular movie, that should tell you something.

Chris: I’ll fully admit that I selected this movie and I’ve had it in my back pocket the last few months, waiting for the right time to put it onto the MotW schedule based mostly on the cast. However, a great cast can’t quite fix a flawed story. There’s no real story to sink your teeth into and feels mostly like a generic movie aside from scenes between Jake Johnson and Joe Lo Truglio because their chemistry saves those particular scenes. The rest of the cast is great but is doesn’t feel like there’s any depth in the plot. Why does Eddie decide so strongly to give up gambling? Because he met a girl. What makes their relationship so strong so that Eddie wants to give up gambling for her? Well because he said so and there’s some montages of them having fun. And the ending is just a mess. Eddie’s win feels too convenient and the heart-attack feels hokey and out of place. What’s the purpose of the heart attack? To create tension so that Eddie is late to dinner? Because that tension is dropped the moment she sees his hospital band. Was the heart attack used as a device to just get him out of the room after he won big so he wouldn’t be tempted by his own addiction to go back to the table? That kills all the attempts to show that Eddie was reformed and had made any progress over the course of the movie. So it’s like Eddie didn’t learn anything, didn’t grow, got lucky and got the girl, the end. Great cast wasted on a paint-by-the-numbers movie that still tripped at the finish line.