Review of Owning Mahowny (2003) by Stevie K — 08 May 2007

"Some people believe we all have a public life, a private life, and a secret life.".

Based on true events, the secret life of Dan Mahowny was a doozy!!! The slippery slope of addiction is pretty damn clear when you look at a man, who didn't have a salary over $25,000 sitting at a card table with $9 million only to end up with nothing left several hours later. And, STILL not able to recognize that, yes, indeed, he had a gambling problem.

It's a good cast...and, though I think the situation is interesting enough, the telling of the story makes for a rather slow movie. You see the man's life unraveling and marvel at his ability to keep it all together. The character Minnie Driver plays is saintly in her support of the man she loves. Though, some might mistake saintly with a lack of sanity for sticking with him.

I liked the ending conversation...the therapist asking him to rate on a scale from 1-100 the thrill he got sitting at the table gambling. 100 he proclaims. And, the highest level he'd experienced with any other activity outside gambling. 20. And, how he felt about living the rest of his life at 20. 20's not bad, he says. He can live with 20.

I'm not much of a gambler, but, I bet it's pretty safe to say he still craves that 100 on occasion!!