Amore e morte al tavolo da gioco

This is an absolutely delightful tale of a gifted but shy young woman who, with the help of two mentors, transforms herself into a confident and unstoppable juggernaut in one particular Reno casino. When I first saw the film, I immediately had a crush on Andra Millian (plays Stacey). She pulled off this personality transformation beautifully and was certainly noticed here. She later was a regular in two TV series - "The Paper Chase" in the 70s and "thirtysomething" in the 90s. Andra still acts occasionally - most recently in the 2007 film "Teeth" - but is now a full-time licensed acupuncturist in Austin, Texas. And, Kevin Costner did a good job as Stacey's first mentor, Will. His performance in this film, not to mention "Testament" filmed the same year, undoubtedly contributed to his rise to prominence in Hollywood.

But, suspension of disbelief is needed to enjoy this film. You must be willing to believe that casino managers would do what they did to Will (no, won't tell) just because he coached Stacey. And, you must be willing to believe that Jean Dennison (played by Eve Lilith) could seduce Shecky Poole. But, if you can suspend this disbelief, you'll enjoy this film as a triumph of the ordinary person against the odds.

P.S. I found it odd that the film was available in Canada on DVD but only on "used" VHS tapes in the U.S. Since I wanted this unique film in my collection, I ordered it from Amazon.ca.