Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game

Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Howard L. Weiner and starring Martin Landau, Paul Sorvino and Maria Dizzia. It is about a character named Dr. Abe Mandelbaum, played by Landau, who is placed in a retirement home while incapable of managing his wife's decaying health.

Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game
Theatrical poster
Directed byHoward L. Weiner
Screenplay byHoward L. Weiner
Produced byHoward L. Weiner
Starring
CinematographyTerrence Hayes
Edited by
  • Andy Keir
  • Victoria Lesiw
Music bySteven Argila
Production
company
Long Road Film
Distributed byGravitas Features
Release date
  • April 24, 2017 (2017-04-24) (Tribeca Film Festival)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It was the first feature film by Weiner, a neurologist. It debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, before Landau's death in July 2017. It received mixed reviews, with some positive assessments of Landau's performance.

Cast
  • Martin Landau as Dr. Abe Mandelbaum
  • Paul Sorvino as Phil Nicoletti
  • Maria Dizzia as Angela Donadio
  • Ann Marie Shea as Molly Mandelbaum
  • Pamela Dubin as Sheryl
  • Alexander Cook as Richard Grollman
  • Lyralen Kaye as Sister Elizabeth

Production

Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game was the first feature film written and directed by Professor Howard L. Weiner, a neurologist. Weiner stated that in medical school, he made his own music videos about The Beatles, and viewed cinema as another medium to pursue truth.[1] He forwarded the screenplay to an Emerson College cinema instructor, who saw promise in it and gave him advice.[2]

Weiner's son, television writer Ron Weiner, contacted producers and had some scenes shot in Los Angeles. It was filmed over five weeks.[2] Howard Weiner also produced it for Premiere Entertainment.[3]

Landau chose to take the role, saying "It was unusual, and it kept unfolding in unpredictable ways".[1]

Release

The film screened at the Tribeca Film Festival under the title The Last Poker Game, the only directorial and writing debut of a septuagenarian at Tribeca that year.[1] Martin Landau attended the spring festival, for his last film released before he died in July 2017.[4] A trailer was published in November 2017 ahead of the January 12, 2018 theatrical and video-on-demand release.[5]

Reception

As of February 18, 2018 the film has a 67% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews.[6] Metacritic also gave it a score of 48, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7]

Pete Hammond, writing for Deadline Hollywood, assessed it as "not only a touching, funny, quite raunchy (especially in its depiction of senior sex) dramedy, it is exceptionally well made".[2] Variety critic Joe Leydon assessed it as "low-key and deeply felt", and hailed Landau for his best performance since 1994's Ed Wood, commenting Landau's death could also influence viewers' perspectives on him playing a character close to death.[8] Ben Kenigsberg in The New York Times criticized it for "flat direction", adding Weiner at least incorporated his medical expertise, "however awkwardly presented".[9] The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore called it "tepid" but said Landau "delivers with dignity in an uplift-oriented project".[10] In the Los Angeles Times, Michael Rechtshaffen judged Landau "effective" but said the film was on "a wobbly line between melancholic and mawkish".[11]

References
  1. Grobar, Matt (April 28, 2017). "'The Last Poker Game' Star Martin Landau On Ageism In Hollywood And Roles He Is Happy To Turn Down — Tribeca Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  2. Hammond, Pete (April 24, 2017). "An Oscar Winner & A 72-Year-Old Neurologist-Turned-Filmmaker Combine For Festival's Most Unique Movie – Tribeca". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  3. Kay, Jeremy (May 21, 2017). "Premiere plays Tribeca title 'The Last Poker Game' with Martin Landau and Paul Sorvino". Screen Daily. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. Blas, Lorena (July 16, 2017). "Veteran actor Martin Landau dead at 89". USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  5. Truitt, Brian (July 16, 2017). "See Martin Landau's final role in exclusive trailer for 'Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game'". USA Today. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  6. "ABE & PHIL'S LAST POKER GAME (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  7. "Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game 2018". Metacritic. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  8. Leydon, Joe (January 12, 2018). "Film Review: 'Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game'". Variety. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  9. Kenigsberg, Ben (January 11, 2018). "Review: Martin Landau and Paul Sorvino in 'Abe and Phil's Last Poker Game'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  10. DeFore, John (January 12, 2018). "'Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  11. Rechtshaffen, Michael (January 11, 2018). "Martin Landau's last role gets lost in suds of soapy 'Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.