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Released by: Platinum Entertainment
Released on: 8/17/2004
Director: E. W. Swackhamer
Cast: Kenny Rogers, Terry O'Quinn, Wendy Phillips, John Karlen, Ann Jillian, Richard McGonagle
Year: 1994
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The Movie:
This 1994 made for TV Kenny Rogers production (that's right, Kenny Rogers Productions bank rolled this baby) finds the bearded one playing Jack MacShayne, an ex-convict who was busted and subsequently incarcerated for gambling when he shouldn't have been. Kenny playing a gambler? Yes! It's true! But Jack MacShayne is no Brady Hawkes, he's a hustler who isn't afraid to break the rules. When he finally gets let out of the big house, he decides he's going to head back to Las Vegas not so he can make some easy money while sitting at the table but so that he can see his son.
Imagine the look of sheer surprise on MacShayne's face when he arrives at the address of his ex-wife only to find that she has packed up and moved on taking their son with her and leaving no forwarding address or contract information. MacShayne isn't too happy about this until he meets up with a retired police officer named Leggett (Terry O'Quinn of Millennium) who knows more than he's letting on. He makes MacShanye a deal - if MacShayne will help him get inside a Casino undercover, he'll help him track down his wife and kid.
While on the surface this might sound like a pretty good score for old MacShayne, he soon becomes wise to the fact that with Legget, nothing is what it seems. MacShayne has played enough poker games in his life time to know when someone is bluffing and he's definitely getting that vibe from this sneaky S.O.B.. Soon enough, MacShayne's instincts are proven right when it comes to light that Leggett is actually planning on robbing the casino and he's trying to use MacShayne as his patsy. How is he going to use him? By having MacShayne beat a guy he wants on his burglar team in a poker game. The stakes are high and MacShayne could find himself back in the clink if he doesn't cooperate - but when Leggett's cover is blown, MacShayne decides that the gloves are off and he decides to give him a taste of his own medicine (and maybe a taste of his delicious chicken as well).
On the surface, it would seem like MacShayne: Winner Takes All has everything it needs to bring down the house. You've got Kenny Rogers and Terry O'Quinn going man to man and then you've got Barry Newman (of Vanishing Point), Wendy Phillips (of Falconcrest), and Ann Jillian (who has shown up in everything from Walker: Texas Ranger to the original Sealab 2020) - with a cast like that, how could it go wrong? Television director extraordinaire E.W. Swackhamer directs and his professionalism shines through in the pacing and the tone of the movie, and it all moves at a decent speed. So what is it that MacShayne: Winner Takes All is missing? For one thing, the action isn't nearly as intense here as it is in early Kenny Rogers films (how often are you going to read a sentence like that?). In his famous The Gambler series of films, we got shoot outs and punching brawls and barroom fisticuffs - in MacShayne we get Kenny tripping O'Quinn down a flight of stairs. Here we see a man who would rather think his way out of a problem than fight or gamble his way out of a problem and while in the real world that might make for a better solution, in made for TV movie land we'd all rather just watch Kenny kick some ass.
The romantic subplot is also lacking. In Six Pack we were treated to the erotic delights of a scene in which sultry Erin Gray sucked on Kenny Rogers' thumb, as a sort of foreshadowing to what would come later that fatefull night. Here, we get nothing of the sort, merely some lame wink-wink nudge-nudge 'play it safe' tension between Kenny Rogers and Wendy Phillips. The mystique is missing, the knowing that these two world weary travellers will find solace in one another's arms just isn't there and as such, the movie isn't nearly as dramatic. It's almost as if with his earlier eighties work Kenny Rogers set the bar so high that a decade later he wouldn't be able to measure up to the fantastic work he'd given us previously.
Now, MacShayne: Winner Take All isn't all bad. It is an entertaining movie and there is some nice (possibly stock) footage of Las Vegas neon. Seeing Kenny Rogers strut his way across a casino floor to take his rightful place at the table has lost none of its charm and his screen presence and acting ability is still second to none. It's simply a shame that the script wasn't able to capitalize more on what Kenny does best - punch guys and bed ladies. The ending of the film does perfectly setup the sequel, MacShayne: The Final Role Of The Dice (also starring Kenny Rogers Jr.!) which was made that same year. It almost feels like this first film was a television pilot and had the character been given more time to develop this reviewer has no doubt that in the hands of Kenny Rogers we'd have had another classic rogue like Brady Hawkes, but instead we get The Gambler lite, and it's just not the same.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Never really known for quality, the crappy transfer that Platinum has give MacShayne: Winner Takes All on this DVD release doesn't do the movie any favors. The black levels dance around and mpeg compression artifacts are present throughout. There are also instances of mild trailing when people move too fast. Print damage and grain are kept in check and color reproduction isn't half bad but the fine detail gets lost in the muddiness of it all. Kenny Rogers deserves better than this.
Thankfully the audio on this release sounds alright. The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track doesn't contain any subtitles or closed captions nor are there any alternate language dubs but English speaking Kenny Rogers fans will be glad to know that the dialogue and soundtrack come through without any hiss or distortion to report on and that everything is properly balanced as well.
When will the DVD companies learn…we want all the fixin's on our Kenny Rogers DVDs and these barebones releases are akin to having rotesserie style chicken without mashed potatoes and gravy! It's just not right. At least the cover art is cool, with a steely-eyed Kenny Rogers looking out over the streets of Las Vegas like he owns the place.
The Final Word:
Hardly a high point in the otherwise solid acting career of Kenny Rogers, MacShayne: Winner Takes All deserves better than this sloppy DVD from Platinum offers.