Enjoyable movie

As a pool player, this is an essential. As a Walter Tevis fan, not so much. The pool culture was a little overdone. If a player acted like Vinnie did in this movie, he would've been shunned, not applauded in a real poolroom. The high points include some real players used in the movie. Keith McCready was a consultant for the character of Grady Sessions. He was so good at demonstrating, he was asked to play the role directly. He did a great job acting the part of a realistic top player. Another real player, albeit a cameo part, is The Miz. Steve Mizerak played (lost to) Fast Eddie in the big tournament. His "I didn't deserve that" line still comes up as a poolroom cliché now and then. As for the story, it is my opinion that this has the record for the movie differing the most from the novel. The only similarities with the book would be the title and the name of the lead character. Nothing else in the story is even close. Walter Tevis actually wrote a screenplay for the movie deal. Scorsese rejected that and opted to use the title and lead character with a completely different story. I would love to see that screenplay surface as a miniseries. Netflix did a great job with Tevis' novel "The Queen's Gambit." The bottom line is that this movie is entertaining and worth watching. You can also read the book without fear of spoilers.