Diagonaldi Very well executed

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

TxMike There is a place in the small Iowa community called the "poker house." People of all kinds, but mostly black, congregate in this smoky place for poker, alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. Not a very pretty place, visually or morally.Jennifer Lawrence was about 16 or 17 during filming, all in the Chicago areas, and she is the main character Agnes who is 14. She and her two younger sisters mostly have to fend for themselves, their mother (Selma Blair, almost unrecognizable) is never fully sober and even if she were does not seem to have any "mothering" skills. Agnes is actually the surrogate mother for the two younger ones. Agnes is also bright, makes straight A's, writes poetry about her gritty life, and is the star basketball player for the school team.So this is her story, about how she manages to stay above the grime and eventually carve out a better life. Jennifer Lawrence even at her young age is simply superb in her role as Agnes. It was also nice to see Chloë Grace Moretz in an early role as Agnes's little sister Cammie.SPOILERS: In a good role for him, Bokeem Woodbine is Duval , basically Agnes's mom's pimp. But he also takes a liking to Agnes, they spend long scenes kissing, and her voice-over tells how much she likes his lips. Agnes is young and not wise to the real world, and she thinks he loves her. Then one day of kissing leads to rape. She is shocked, she gets in the tub and washes herself frantically. All trust has been betrayed, but she pulls herself together to go late to the game but plays and scores to erase a large deficit and win the game. The rape was her wake-up call, it influenced her to care for herself and make a career for herself.

liajane19 Selma Blair is amazing in The Poker House as a drug-addicted prostitute who has her three daughters living with her. Jennifer Lawrence also gives a wonderful performance as the eldest daughter, Agnes who takes care of her two younger siblings. The Poker House is narrated by Agnes as she tries to deal with being 14 and living in a house where there is gambling, drugs, alcohol, and pimps. The story definitely pulls on the heart strings at times, but it does not overwhelm with sadness that it makes it hard to enjoy. It adds just the right amount of humor that three young girls can produce while being silly together. I honestly was shocked by how well the movie was produced and the character portrayal. The Poker House is definitely something I would recommend to my friends, as well as watch again.

ktw122 Not to long ago I took a class in literary nonfiction. For that class, I wrote an essay about my relationship with my father. My professor made a very useful comment that anyone who attempts to write about their life should heed: "Maybe you're too close to the material. You should give it some time." I wish Lori Petty had taken that class and heard that advice.Petty obviously had some trouble separating herself from this story, but that is what a film is supposed to be, a story. If Petty had just wanted to recount a tragic day in her childhood, then she should have made a documentary. Since this is supposed to be a film every scene should advance the story in someway. That was one of the things that irritated me about this movie. It dragged on with all these unnecessary scenes that did nothing to advance the plot. Why did we need to see Agnes playing a pick up game of basketball? Why did we need to see Agnes at the Burger joint? Why are there so many scenes of Cammie at the bar? My other problem with this film is its protagonist. Agnes is clearly smart and savvy. Savvy enough to make sure that her little sisters don't see her mother's john, but not smart enough to know better than to make out with her mother's pimp/lover. Trailers for this film described the pimp as a father figure, but who makes out with their father? I also didn't understand why Agnes had Bee leave the poker house when she saw that the degenerates had shown up, but didn't leave herself. She had a basketball to go to why was she hanging around? These decisions and Agnes' obnoxious, chatty, and attention seeking personality make it hard to like her as a character. Also, I would have been more interested in what happened to Agnes and the girls immediately after the ending instead of some vague reference to her leaving for New York years later.

BronzeKeilani26 The abrupt way the film cut off just as it was starting to take form, made it the worst ending to a movie I've seen in a long time! And, we go to the matinée most every wk end, rent & watch a lot of movies. The acting from Selma, Bokeem and Jennifer Lawrence is truly convincing & professional in this film. Also, acting by the children & teens are exceptionally well. Unfortunately, it couldn't save the film considering this isn't one of those films we could sit back, relax & enjoy. In most parts, the script seemed incomplete & chaotic, such as, forcing viewers to put in work second guessing exactly what roles certain characters played in the main character's life(Agnes), who was who & what was the point of a few interesting scenes w/ no outcome(which eventually made them irrelevant). That caused the film to drag on more often than not. It was like trying to use your own imagination while listening to someone in a drunk stupor (and depressed), tell you about 3 days & fifteen minutes out of 150 chapters of their unstable, hectic life. Nearly as bad was the way it transitioned from one scene to the next & careened from plot to plot, such as the connection we never make to the scenes w/ the youngest sister(Chloe Moretz). Matter of fact, we aren't aware Agnes & Cammie are sisters or even know one another until Agnes picks 2 sisters up instead of 1 off an overpass at night, and they drive off five min before the ending! None of us could figure out if the boring scenes w/ a little girl "always" in a complete different setting were flashbacks to when Agnes was a little girl, or her mother. Lastly, if watching a 13 yr old **** tease & bust slob with a black pimp is interesting to you, and you can believe he allows her to sit across from him & call his peers n*(ggers)during their conversations, than forces himself on her 10 minutes before the movie cuts off, and unlike other 'based on true event" films...we can't research what happens after or to other characters...along with all the above, than this miserable movie is right up your alley. Enjoy! because I doubt they'll be another made like it (thank God)