Synopsis

Recently paroled Rudy Duncan assumes the identity of his dead cellmate, Nick, hoping to meet Nick's romantic pen pal, Ashley. Instead, Ashley's dangerous brother Gabriel pulls Rudy into a casino robbery planned for Christmas Eve. As the heist unfolds, shifting loyalties, hidden motives, and a series of reversals make Rudy question everyone around him - including the woman who drew him into the scheme.

Factoids & Trivia

• Although the story is set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, principal photography took place in British Columbia, including Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Prince George. Filming ran from March 15 through June 25, 1999. 1

• The film was originally intended for a Christmas 1999 release. After test screenings led to additional editing and reshoots, the theatrical opening was postponed to February 25, 2000. 2

• The theatrical version runs 104 minutes, while a 124-minute Director's Cut arrived on DVD in March 2001. The longer version restores roughly twenty minutes of darker material and alternate footage removed from the theatrical release. 3

• The film marked the final feature-film assignment of its filmmaker before his death in 2002. 4

• Ashton Kutcher appears briefly as the college student whose clothes Rudy borrows, while Isaac Hayes makes a cameo as a prisoner involved in the prison food fight. 5

• During filming, former NFL player Dana Stubblefield accidentally knocked Ben Affleck down in a stabbing scene, reportedly causing Affleck a concussion and temporarily halting production. 6

7 IMDb 8 Wikipedia; IMDb 9 Wikipedia; The Digital Bits 10 Television Academy 11 IMDb