Chicago-centric writer/director Joe Swanberg has teamed up yet again with Netflix and his favorite everyman actor, Jake Johnson, for another straight-shooting comedic drama in "Win It All." Although Swanberg bets once more on his honest-to-goodness, real people living everyday life approach to storytelling, this film has a much stronger narrative focus, marking another step forward for the modern indie auteur.In these last couple Netflix collaborations, starting with the limited anthology series "Easy," Swanberg has improved upon his 2013 breakthrough "Drinking Buddies" by finding ways to up the stakes while staying true to the stories he wants to tell. Some audiences will crave more intriguing premises and manufactured melodrama and never quite get on board with him, but "Win It All" shows a willingness to compromise, if that's a fair way to put it.Johnson's Eddie is in many respects an ordinary, struggling blue- collar Chicagoan without a job trying to find his way, but the dimension of his gambling addiction puts a fat caveat on his "everyday" dealings. When a buddy going off to prison hands him a duffel bag with the promise that if Eddie simply returns it untouched when he gets back, he'll make $10,000, we're already aware of his risk-inclined personality and know this will not go well. Whereas Hollywood would take this plot and turn it into a heist film or crime drama, Swanberg is just interested in Eddie's roller coaster, and we're instantly curious as to which end Eddie will come out when the credits roll.It's not quite accurate to call "Win It All" a portrait of gambling addiction; the film is all about Eddie, but there's still a degree of distance between him and us – the objective is sympathy rather than empathy. Per Swanberg's M.O., the real interest is in Eddie's responses and choices, especially as it relates to the relationships in his life. His desire to change leads him to improve his relationship with his brother (Joe Lo Truglio), who wants nothing but to get Eddie on his feet, and lands him a new romantic opportunity in Eva (Aislinn Derbez from "Easy" episode "Controlada").Eddie's ups and downs give a real pulse to this film that makes it a much more compelling watch than the casual attitude and mild conflict of "Drinking Buddies." Swanberg captures his characters in such an earnest light, like no one else telling stories today, but that down-to-earth tone can result in dull plots. "Win It All" does a lot to mitigate that problem. The intensity still grades out at mild, but there's a distinct hook.Given the moral question hanging above the entire movie, Swanberg finds a really thoughtful and interesting way of ending the film that reminds us that Eddie's journey is about a lot more than whether the film ends with him in the red or the black. It may come off a bit anti- climactic, but if you know Swanberg, you can't watch this film expecting anything different. "Win It All" suggests there's at least reason to keep betting on him going forward.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Story-wise Win It All is a standard gambling movie. I haven't seen that many, I've seen Rounders and... Does Casino Royale count? But there's a really familiar structure, which can make you feel like you've seen this movie already. That might be good if you're just looking to spend time, but if you're looking for something new, then the story won't do much to you. While the story itself might not be original, it's still well- written. The characters feel like human beings instead of simple characters designed for the story. Especially the main character Eddie is an interesting character. You really want him to get through his problems, maybe because you see yourself in him. Also you really want to yell at him and stop being an idiot. And as the story progresses you get really stressed over how he uses the money. So even though the story isn't original, it takes you with it, and it's the perfect balance between a heavy and a light story. But what is amazing in this movie is the cinematography and just the whole visual feeling to it. It looks like an old 70's movie, even though it takes place in 2000-2010's. The colours look amazing and bright, and the quality look like it's old or even made on an actual film. I especially love the hand-held camera, which makes most of the scenes very feel very intimate as we get so close to the situations at hand.Win It All might not stand out as a really special movie, but it's definitely worth watching at least that one time. It's a bit predictable, but there's something else about it that's special, mostly the cinematography and how just in a short while you already feel very invested in the characters and what happens to them. Definitely well written and directed movie, even though not close to perfect.

A solid bit of gambling obsession lite. It's an on-the-surface appealing mix of normal Swanberg character driven talk as plot mixed with a more conventional plot about bottoming out in order to be saved from self- destruction by way of addiction. However, neither of those things elevates the other, and what you have is a pleasing diversion with a solid main performance from Jake Johnson. And what can only count as coup for film in the age of the streaming -- this film premiered on Netflix yet it was shot on 16mm (presumably it will never be shown that way?) but because Swanberg opted for 16 over 35 the grain shows all over the screen and constantly reminds you of its origins.

Jake Johnson (nerd from Jurassic World) plays an lazy degenerate with just enough likable charisma for me not to shut this off in the fist four minutes. A down on his luck addicted gambler is asked to hold a bag of dirty money while some dude does time. Take a wild guess what happens next? The gambling lows aren't low enough, would like to see this character suffer more. Jake's brother played by Joe Lo Truglio (Wet Hot American Summer/ The State) hits on all levels, would like him to be in more stuff like this, gave it a nice spark. The female lead was hot. It was good enough for me not to cancel my Netflix subscription. Happy Monday. ; ) Scooter