High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story Movie Review

God forbid the marketing guy who decided to title this film Stuey (it has mercifully been changed), a biopic about legendary and tragic poker champ Stu Ungar.

Stu -- or Stuey, if you must -- won three World Series of Poker Championships, a feat which has not been equalled. Stu was also a hardcore drug addict and generally a lousy guy, virtually catatonic in the years leading up to his death. But he was a card player first, unmatched at reading his opponents and incredibly lucky at getting the cards he needed.

This biopic is fairly by the numbers, giving us the good with the grit, courtesy of a leading performance by The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli, though the true depths of Ungar's life are skirted for the most part. Countless real poker legends have cameos in the film, just another reason that card fans will find High Roller marginally worthwhile.

As a movie, alas, High Roller ain't much. For poker fans, I'll put it in terms you can understand: Think of it as sitting on a Jack-eight. Off suit.

Aka Stuey.