Reindeer Games (2000)

Elevator Pitch: Rudy’s cell mate Nick has a pen pal whose name is Ashley, but when he is stabbed shortly before his release, Rudy takes his place and meets Ashley outside the jail. They become lovers but things are not straightforward, since it turns out that Nick had been a security guard in a casino and Ashley’s brother, Gabriel, is masterminding a robbery in which Rudy (Nick) is an essential component. It also turns out that rather than Ashley being Gabriel’s sister she is actually his lover and partner in the potential robbery. But Rudy is knows nothing about the casino. So how will he survive.

Content: Charlize Theron gets her top off while in a swimming pool with Gabriel and there is quite a bit of grappling and panting between her and Rudy. There is a riot in the prison during which Nick is stabbed. Then a lot of preparation for the robbery, during which Rudy is constantly under threat, once it is known that he is not Nick. Ashley and Rudy fall through the ice on a lake when running away.  

A View: We go along with Charlize Theron who said “That was a bad, bad, bad movie”. She and Ben Affleck seem to have been around for ever, looking more or less the same. Are these people ageless? Actually I was almost going along with it and quite admired the twists, until the final twist, which was absolutely ridiculous but I can’t say more. It cost quite a bit and did not make any money so I would not recommend it even for nothing. So it is an “ALMOST DON’T SEE.”

Additional Info: 20 minutes was cut from the December 1999 release. The longer version, released later, was sexier and grittier.