Card Sharks

Two L.A. hotties find love in the cards in Maverick's lighthearted but flatly written romantic comedy. Tax accountant Marianne Hollingsworth is on track for a partnership in her staid firm, but somehow the combination of corporate affluence and her on-again, off-again relationship with handsome but commitment-phobic Donny Fazzuli is about as compelling as an IRS audit. So, Marianne and her gold-digging best friend, Bijou Sterling, decide they ought to learn how to play poker: not only will they meet available men, they'll "slay [them] and take their money." The would-be gamblers stumble out of the gates, getting tricked into strip poker with Donny's pals and mistakenly signing up for a game with teenage boys, but Marianne is no slouch, and pretty soon she's earned herself an invitation to a big-money poker tournament in Vegas. Maverick sets up a romantic quartet (the ladies, Donny and Peter Graham, the journalist writing about Marianne's poker escapades) but falls victim to some lazy writing in the couples scenes. The card-playing scenes fare better, bolstered by cameos by real-life poker celebs. (Dec.)