Jennifer Quail This is one movie everyone in my family can watch multiple times and still find funny and quote at random and everyone is able to respond with the right line. Every actor is absolutely brilliant, no matter how small the part (standouts in the supporting cast are Jennifer Tilly and Robbie Coltrane, whom you would never believe is English.) Hialeah is beautiful. And true to the advertising, Trotter (Richard Dreyfuss) drinks, smokes, gambles, and thinks about committing adultery, and you WILL love him. Horseplayers like myself will also recognize a lot of the track atmosphere, and appreciate that the movie may be poking fun, but it's affectionate fun. Major bonus: you can use the opening scene to start fights at Chinese restaurants. This will feel like an especially good day at the track, down to the authentic voice of Trevor Denman calling the races.

thinker1691 Among all the films made by Richard Dreyfuss who plays Jay Trotter in " Let It Ride " this has got to be the happiest. His best friend Looney, played by David Johansen (Supurb role for him) confides that two men in his taxi cab were caught on tape fixing a race. Although Trotter has promised his wife Pam (Teri Garr) he has given up gambling, he is nevertheless found at the racetrack with what he believes is a sure thing. The trouble is, he learns not only will he having a good day, it will be a day he discovers he can't seem to lose. The winnings begin to double as do his bets, he is even lucky enough to be hit upon by a beautiful and shapely young girl name Vickie (Jennifer Tilly). The film is wonderfully packs with tense events and comedic situations, but is definitely enhanced by the odd characters who surround Trotter. For instance There's Tony Cheeseburger played enjoyably by Richard Dimitri and Robbie Coltrane who is the mystified Ticket Seller. With the majority of the population at the racetrack rooting for Trotter, it's little wonder the audience feels compelled to join in. Easily recommended to all audiences. ****

sdelaney-6 This movie is to Richard Dreyfus what "Slapshot" is to Paul Newman. Almost constantly hysterical, the movie captures the oddball characters at the track and at the bar perfectly. (No surprise there - the cast is a virtual who's who of the great character actors of that time!) Dreyfus turns in an over-the-top performance that somehow is not overdone. Catch a pre - "Sex and the City" Cynthia Nixon as the naive Evangeline and Robbie Coltrane as the grizzled betting window teller. You really should buy or rent the DVD instead of settling for the broadcast version. If you have a free Saturday night this would be a good double feature with "Tin Men".

justincward This is like the US equivalent of one of those Olde English Ealing comedies; lots of great supporting cast, some LOL setpieces that are beautifully integrated, gentle social comment and a plot that everybody can identify with. The racetrack setting is reminiscent of the genre, too. Teri Garr is especially good as the long suffering gambler's wife, and Robbie Coltrane enjoys himself as the window clerk, (funny, but his stock American accent slips a lot!). I wouldn't call it a classic for the reason that the plot makes it all too easy for Trotter. While you do share the excitement as the horses race, you never really get the feeling that Trotter's fate is in jeopardy, or that there is much sense of crisis - Teri Garr threatens divorce but immediately takes it back, the villains are nothing but cream puffs, everybody thinks Trotter's a hero. They even make it clear before the last race: "I'm covered - you can't put a price on a day like that", so the ultimate outcome is slightly irrelevant. It's also too easy for him to break his promise to stop gambling at the beginning; he doesn't feel guilty, he doesn't worry about it, his confidence is never shaken. It's not clear whether his 'good' day is a reward for being honest, his luck just 'happens'. This takes the film into the realm of fantasy wish-fulfilment, as though it was a sort of chick flick for guys. Nothing wrong with that, because the good humour is sincere enough. It doesn't become trite, anyway. I'd say it was fine for little kids apart from the f-bombs and the dubious message that gamblers win in the end, but it looks like they had fun making it.