House Of Games (1987)

An author looks to expand her life and lands in the lap of Mike (Joe Mantegna) a con man amongst other con men. She can't resist uncovering their tricks and gets caught in the web of their gamery.  She wants to get out but a man blocks the door and holds up identification telling them he is the police and now from her perspective she is told they should get down on the floor but she hears a shot while in a struggle and sees him bleeding and feels responsible.  She goes to her office and throws her book against the wall and wants to hide from the world. But HOUSE OF GAMES is smart and too stylish to follow the expected course and soon she learns that she may have been set up. The viewer begins to distrust things seen and heard because this house of games is a house of illusions.  If I blink, I'll miss an important clue, and the beautiful thing here is you REALLY want to see the act of deception.  There is a great line "May I have another" recalling ANIMAL HOUSE but will live on here for its oddly chosen timing. The house of games is really the human mind which is really what we study in this drama and the longer we observe the more we see it is ourselves we are learning about. Her object of study as a psychiatrist is theirs, human beings, yet her legitimate claim to a profession is matched objectively in every way by theirs. How kewl is it to learn that we want or allow ourselves to be deceived so that we can see it being done next time, to us or by us. There is an allure in it which is a prize viewers take home if they stayed awake during the showing, for after all, you can't bluff someone who isn't paying attention. [4.5 stars]