Let It Ride

Jay Trotter, a cab driver about to lose his wife over gambling, promises one morning that he is done. The same day he overhears a tip and goes to the track. The bet comes in, then another, then another; he does not lose all day, and the question becomes when he will stop. Joe Pytka directed, coming from commercials. Richard Dreyfuss plays Jay, Teri Garr his wife, with David Johansen and Jennifer Tilly among the men and women at the track. The film takes place almost entirely in one day and one place: the racetrack, the toilets, the bar and the stands. The tone is comic but the subject is addiction. The intoxication of winning is shown as more dangerous than the collapse of losing. It attracted no interest on release and was pulled quickly. It later found a cult place among gambling films. Dreyfuss's energy carries the whole thing; in most scenes he is the only one talking. Who it is for: viewers who like casino and racetrack films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for plot; the film circles inside a single day.