‘Rounders’ With Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey
September 11, 2018 · Rounders (1998) · Crime · Drama · 1:33:27 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsGretchen Mull moves out of the apartment scene, leading to Ed Norton's 'woman or the fucking rake' speech and Mike McD's decision to play cards again▶ 26:01
What's Aged the Best
Bill SimmonsDamon and Norton at really fun times of their careers, part of a great talent cluster from the mid-90s including Leo, Brad Pitt, and others; Russians as villains becoming more believable over time▶ 29:08
Sean FennesseyThe movie looks surprisingly cool and not dated for 1998; it's a good New York movie that captures the seedy but exciting NYC feeling authentically▶ 34:42
What's Aged the Worst
Bill SimmonsGretchen Mol as the stereotypical wet blanket girlfriend; the card scene with judges where Mike reads everyone's hand in 14 seconds; Mike not hooking up with Famke Janssen▶ 35:54
Sean FennesseyAgrees with the wet blanket girlfriend critique, explaining it stems from male writers projecting their own relationship anxieties; acknowledges the card reading scene is implausible but defends it somewhat; discusses Famke Janssen as a 'manic poker dream girl' fantasy▶ 36:56
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsNeve Campbell — Neve Campbell turned down the role of Joe and would have made the movie work better as a better actress▶ 44:02
Sean FennesseyNeve Campbell — Agrees Neve Campbell would have been better for Joe because she's inherently sympathetic and you would care about her point of view▶ 44:22
Dion Waiters Award
Bill SimmonsJohn Malkovich — John Malkovich as Teddy KGB - only in 2-3 scenes but delivers incredible performance▶ 45:22
Sean FennesseyJohn Turturro — Acknowledges KGB but advocates strongly for John Turturro as Kanish, praising his great lines and realistic portrayal of poker players▶ 45:40
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsLenny Clarke — Highlights Lenny Clark in poker scenes and Michael Raspoli as grandma character▶ 47:30
Who Won the Movie
Bill SimmonsJohnny Chan — Johnny Chan - he's in the top four because he won the World Series of Poker twice when nobody cared, has the perfect poker name, and became the Muhammad Ali of poker because of this movie▶ 50:26
Sean FennesseyJohnny Chan — Johnny Chan - agrees he's like the Muhammad Ali of boxing and stands alone in the poker world▶ 50:56
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsAcknowledges the Doyle Brunson trivia and applies his rule that 'if you have something named after you, you've done something well' - noting that Brunson is a poker player who has a hand named after him.▶ 53:14
Sean FennesseyDoyle Brunson's Super System book appears in the opening shots when Mike McDermott pulls money from hiding places - it's the book he pulls money out of. Also mentions the 10-2 hand is called 'the Doyle Brunson' after the legendary poker player who won the World Series of Poker with that hand.▶ 52:52
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsJohnny Chan — Matt Damon: Not Rounders, probably first Bourne movie; Ed Norton: Not Rounders, Fight Club; Johnny Chan: 100% yes, Rounders; John Turturro: Maybe Rounders-Lebowski combo but probably not; John Malkovich: Initially said Dangerous Liaisons, then agreed Being John Malkovich after Sean's suggestion▶ 54:47
Sean FennesseyBeing John Malkovich — Gretchen Mol: Not Rounders, probably The Notorious Bettie Page; John Turturro: Probably Barton Fink; John Malkovich: Being John Malkovich (they named the movie after him)▶ 55:24
Movies Referenced (40)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Will Hunting (1997) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 4:16 |
| 25th Hour (2002) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 29:36 |
| Casino (1995) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:13:59 |
| Fight Club (1999) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 29:45 |
| John Wick (2014) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 10:59 |
| About Time (2013) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 12:11 |
| Another Round (2020) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 1:19:25 |
| Barton Fink (1991) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 56:19 |
| Dazed and Confused (1993) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 10:48 |
| Rushmore (1998) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 36:11 |
| Sleepers (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 19:36 |
| The Apartment (1960) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 25:54 |
Directors Referenced (7)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Affleck | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons | Argo, Gone Girl, The Town | ▶ 1:21:27 |
| George Clooney | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | The Ides of March, Michael Clayton | ▶ 31:50 |
| John Dahl | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 8:35 | |
| Francis Ford Coppola | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part II | ▶ 14:06 |
| Mel Gibson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Braveheart, Lethal Weapon 3, Conspiracy Theory | ▶ 5:49 |
| Robert Altman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Gosford Park | ▶ 1:15:39 |
| Woody Allen | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Annie Hall | ▶ 29:58 |
Actors Referenced (68)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Damon | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 40 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Good Will Hunting, The Martian, The Departed | ▶ 1:29 |
| Edward Norton | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 26 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Fight Club, American History X, Primal Fear | ▶ 1:29 |
| David Levine | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 20 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | The Ice Storm | ▶ 2:19 |
| Johnny Chan | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 19 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Rounders | ▶ 22:05 |
| John Malkovich | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 17 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | In the Line of Fire, Being John Malkovich, Burn After Reading | ▶ 1:29 |
| Will Smith | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | Men in Black, I Am Legend | ▶ 4:16 |
| John Turturro | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Barton Fink | ▶ 1:29 |
| Martin Landau | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Ed Wood, Crimes and Misdemeanors, North by Northwest | ▶ 1:29 |
| Big Al | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 3:34 | |
| Doyle Brunson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 22:12 | |
| Counting Crows | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | Cruel Intentions, Two Weeks Notice | ▶ 51:30 |
| Steve Buscemi | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons | Fargo, Reservoir Dogs | ▶ 58:04 |
Writers Referenced (9)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Koppelman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 38 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Runaway Jury, Michael Clayton | ▶ 2:19 |
| Jesse Armstrong | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | In the Loop | ▶ 1:31:03 |
| Harvey Weinstein | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Shakespeare in Love, The Hateful Eight | ▶ 8:44 |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 12:02 | |
| Ryan Murphy | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | ▶ 30:19 | |
| Armando Iannucci | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | In the Loop | ▶ 1:31:17 |
| Michael Cedeno | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Hercules | ▶ 1:14:50 |
| Scott Alexander | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | Big Eyes | ▶ 30:15 |
| William Goldman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Princess Bride | ▶ 5:57 |
Cinematographers Referenced (2)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Grantland | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | The Other Guys | ▶ 41:07 |
| Josh Kraszewski | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | ▶ 30:15 |