They called this a career high for Adam Sandler. Although there is nothing to criticize about his performance there is little that could have saved this grim movie. It's a story about a degenerate gambler and that's not exactly an entertaining subject. You feel like you're watching a 2 hour train wreck in progress. Actually it is over two hours when there is not enough substance to justify that much film. It could have been done in 90 minutes no problem. I felt it really dragged and that observation is being made in many other user reviews. The direction and dialogue is sort of like reality television and that gets annoying after awhile. During its theater run I could believe many goers were ticked off as they left their seats. Many viewers at home will turn this movie off in the first half hour because of how slowly it develops. Or they will fast-forward through much of it.