The Gin Game
Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, performing together for the first time  since the heady days ofThe Dick Van Dyke Show, demonstrate the  natural chemistry that made them television icons so long ago. In this  skillful TV-movie of D.L. Coburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Van Dyke  and Moore play two elderly people who fight loneliness, loss, and each  other while playing cards at a nursing home. The game reflects their  approach to life as much as card-playing--but if you expect an easy,  sentimental journey, you'll be surprised. Both Weller (Van Dyke) and  Fonsia (Moore) have led unhappy lives, marred by misfortune and the spoils  of their own difficult personalities. The dark undertone of their  quarreling makesThe Gin Gamea potent piece of work, and these two  old pros tear into their parts without fear or compromise, finding both  humor and bitterness.--Bret Fetzer