Plot
Twenty five years after the events of The Hustler, Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is a successful liquor salesman who sometimes acts as a "stakehorse" for younger pool players: fronting the money for their bets in exchange for a cut of the profits.
One night, Eddie sees Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise) play and is impressed with the young man's phenomenal skill and charisma. Eddie tells Vincent and Vincent's calculating girlfriend Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) that "rich can be arranged" for someone of Vincent's skills and agrees to take them on the road to teach them how to hustle pool, angering his own girlfriend Janelle (Helen Shaver). Eddie tries to teach the young couple that "pool excellence is not about excellent pool" but while Carmen is a quick study, Vincent constantly chafes at the scams which Eddie proposes, which usually require Vincent to play well below his abilities. One night, after seeing Vincent play an excellent game against champion Grady Seasons (Keith McCready), Eddie decides to pick up the cue again. He beats his first few opponents but then is beaten by pool shark Amos (Forest Whitaker). Angered and humiliated at not being able to spot the hustle, Eddie abandons Vincent and Carmen, saying that he has nothing more to teach them and giving them a few thousand dollars to help get them to a championship pool tournament coming up in Atlantic City.
Reconciling with Janelle, Eddie works out, gets new glasses, and returns to the professional pool circuit, eventually ending up at the Atlantic City tournament where he reconnects with a much more seasoned and world wise Vincent. In their first match against each other Eddie beats Vincent, a result he celebrates enthusiastically. However, that night Vincent and Carmen come by Eddie's room and deliver his 'share', stating that Vincent had bet against himself and lost the match on purpose. Angered, Eddie challenges Vincent to a straight game, insisting that if he doesn't beat him now then he will in the future because "I'm back!"
Read more about this topic: The Color Of Money
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