Popcorn, Soda, and Goobers - Movie and DVD Reviews and Film Commentary

In Theaters

• 21 (imdb | book)

  

  In the early to mid-nineties, a group of eccentric and highly talented MIT students under the auspices of associate professor Mickey Rosa (possibly not his real name) shook down some of the biggest casinos in the nation for more than $3 million. The real story, or as close as you’re going to get short of meeting the actual members of these teams, is documented in Bringing Down the House, a book by Ben Mezrich. For those who have read it, you could find 21 to be quite a disappointment and not just because Hollywood decided to cast a horribly stereotypical group of actors to play the MIT card counting team. Though, I have to mention that the most egregious of the casting decisions was straight ignoring one of the most memorable passages in the book which described that it was best to recruit non-Caucasian players as they were less likely to draw casino attention. In fact, most MIT card counters were Asian, in particular, the main character of the story. Instead, we find the asians of this team being relegated to roles as second class players and stereotypical roles as comic relief.

  Okay, enough with my rant on racial bias. How was the movie? Well, it’s fun and entertaining in its own right. The movie really draws very little from Ben Mezrich’s book outside of the general idea of an MIT card counting team and similar techniques - nonverbal signaling, practicing in Chinatown gambling parlors, and supposed MIT students. Basically, they use this general inspiration and attempt to jam it into a formulaic Hollywood college movie. Self-conscious, nerdy kid is in a jam, finds a crazy plan to reach all his dreams, gets the girl, and lives happily ever after. But, not without some angst along the way. It’s not quite as ridiculous as The Perfect Score, a heist movie set to a cast of high-schoolers. But, this movie does feel eerily similar. Though, I will admit the movie is a bit more grown up and will likely have a more broad reaching appeal.

  For those who read Bringing Down the House, you’re likely to be a little disappointed. If you ask me, the book itself told a really great story. No, it didn’t have the standard happy ending or life lesson. The main character didn’t join a card counting team to pay for med school and, at the end of the book, he’s not hit with a life changing epiphany but more left at a crossroads. Maybe, it would have been difficult to pass a version of the book off as a narrative film, but I really wish they would have tried.

  Instead, what we’re left with is a sort of quirky cast of relative unknowns (with the exception of Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey) and a moderately intriguing story replete with far too many Hollywood cliches and characters that are more caricatures than real people. I admit, it’s still fun to watch the team pull off secret identities and rake in chips at the blackjack tables. The story line moves decently and provides a bit of forward momentum as you watch Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) go from nerd to big swinging card counter and back to desperate student who has one last chance to set things right. Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne, despite limited screen time and minor roles, steal the show and provide drama and intensity as the young kids in the card counting team give us all the drama and comedy necessary to make this film an enjoyable viewing.

  2.5-3 out of 5 cards to a monkey

  21 is set for US release on March 28th.

  
  

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