There are many vices that afflict the human species; smoking, alcohol, drugs are only a few. One that destroys millions of lives every year is gambling. Like many vices it initially seems harmless. You make a bet in an office football pool or buy a few lottery ticket; no harm. The lure of chance is strong and many individuals cannot escape. The film ‘Player 5150’ looks at an extremely serious gambling problem. This has been the subject of many movies over the years and on the surface this one has little to distinguish it from the pack. The protagonist works in a high end brokerage house. It makes senses since the stock market is just gambling on a much grander scale. I’ve worked in network support on trading floors and the feel is almost exactly what you would expect in a major casino. It comes across as only natural that a man who earns a living with such work would become a compulsive gambler. The film starts with this as a realistic premise and moves on to deliver a nicely constructed action based drama. There are some parts that strain believability but overall the movie is entertaining. It gets past its flaws better than most flicks of this sort. There are criminals, chases and enough violence to keep the action fan interested while still keeping an engaging story moving.

The film opens with a man in a ski mask holding up a neighborhood grocery. Just as the thief approaches the store owner the scene jumps to a man, Joey (Ethan Embry) on a lonely road apparently on the run. The scene shifts between him and the man robbing the store. Joey is distracted while driving almost having a head on collision with a truck. The robber shots out the surveillance camera and keeps firing. Joey winds up in a ditch. In his voice over we states that he did it again; he promised he wouldn’t but he did. This is only the teaser, the film goes back a little bit in time to show Joey at work at the brokerage house where he is a day trader. This is one of the most intense forms of investment. The risks are high with a potential for incredible payoffs but also the danger of getting wiped out in a single trading session. It is the closest thing on the stock exchange to high stakes gambling. Cut to Nick (Bob Gunton) in a Las Vegas hotel room. On the bed is a huge pile of money that he admires before going out on the balcony to look over the city, quite in the daylight. Once again the focus of the scene moves back and forth between Joey and Nick. Nick is seen leaving the hotel elevator with the hotel concierge Dianne (Sandra Taylor). He goes into the horse betting part of the casino and places some rather large bets on a long shot. While waiting for the horse race Nick calls an associate and tells him to get the bag out of the safe and call Joey. Meanwhile Joey is trying to get a hold of someone at the office of a political campaign. We then see Ali (Kathleen Robertson) hard at work there on the phone. She is Joey’s girlfriend although lately both have been extremely busy. She works for Lanzelin (Vyto Ruginis) who is about to become the governor of the state. It looks like the governor elect has gotten himself into something that requires spin control by Ali. Some more characters are introduced including Lucy (Kelly Carlson) and Beno (Bob Sapp). He is sitting reading the paper while Lucy sets up some lines of cocaine on a mirror. They both work for Tony (Christopher McDonald) who seems more than a bit shady. This is confirmed when Tony kicks Lucy out to have a meeting with Dwayne (Patrick Mapel). The young man is late with a payment to Tony; something that is not conducive to the continuation of walking or breathing. Dwayne’s envelop is short which does not go well with Joey. He takes Dwayne and shoves his head in a sink full of water almost drowning him and tops off the late charge by scalding him with hot water.

Joey gets called in to meet with his boss, Mr. Barman (Peter Mackenzie). Joey’s numbers are the best in the firm but the boss is worried that he is headed for a burn out. The boss is also concerned over Joey’s unorthodox and risky investment strategies. Joey is gambling with other people’s money; something that doesn’t fly well in the conservative company he works for. When Joey gets back to his office he receives a ‘deli delivery’ from Beno. Joey has been betting with Tony and has been out of action for awhile and is falling behind in his outstanding debt. This is something else that Tony doesn’t care for. Beno leaves a club sandwich for Joey that has a little extra ingredient, a baggie of cocaine. This is just what anyone could want with an investment specialist handling your life savings; gambling and drugs. While Joey is busy making bets a key stock tanks potentially losing a ton of money for his clients. This is the beginning of a very bad time for Joey. He calls Tony and places $40,000 more on games on top of his $60,000 current debt. Anyone who has seen any flick of this type can guess what happens next. Joey meets up with Nick who leaves $300,000 with Joey. Nick wants it parked in low profile stocks for while. Nick also slips Joey a roll of cash, not as a commission but as a ‘thank you’ gift. It also looks like the Feds are after Nick. The stage is set; Joey will shortly need a lot of cash, get tempted by the bag full in his possession and there will be a lot of people after him.

This film was written and directed by David Michael O'Neill. He has a couple of previous credits in both fields and does well here. The story is able to pull in the audience and hold their attention. Much of the plot is revisited from countless other crime dramas so there is little new or unexpected here. The movie is enjoyable though and that is what counts. As a director O’Neil does a reasonable job of pacing the film. He has some interesting uses for the camera but doesn’t rely on tricky cuts to show off. He is steady and gets the job done nicely. The cast works well together; each playing their role in a professional and capable fashion. They give a feeling of reality to their characters that helps sell the movie overall.

The film is released to DVD by First Look Studios. They do manage to find the little Indy flicks that are worth watching that you most likely never heard of. This is a prime example. The film is fun and will make for a good movie night at home.