Movie Review

Two For the Money

"Two for the Money" is a film about a young hotshot sports handicapper and his rise from mediocre cubicle job to the high stakes business world. Does this sound familiar? It should. Charlie Sheen played a similar character in "Wall Street,? and Giovanni Ribisi played another similar character in "Boiler Room.? So "Money" is essentially a formula movie. We know that the character will get a better wardrobe, meet sexier women, and move on up to a beautiful high-rise apartment. We also know that he will get greedy or corrupt, which in essence will contribute to his downfall. The fact that American business is such a slippery slope is well known, but it can still be compelling if the movie actually has something meaningful to say about the business. "Money" has the story, but it doesn't have the surprises, which makes it just strictly formula.

Brandon Lang (Mathew McConaughey) is a former amateur quarterback who broke his leg before he could turn pro. Deciding to stay within the sports field, he takes a job in Las Vegas as a football handicapper and soon the entire gambling community is turning to him for their picks. The job is a dead end, however. Making the picks earns him very little money and the office building he works in is described as resembling a "Turkish prison.? Luckily his exploits have reached New York, where Walter Abrams (Al Pacino) jumps at the chance to hire him to his team of handicappers. Abrams has his own television show where he gives the picks away for free and then earns a percentage on the wins. We find out that sports gambling is illegal, but still manages to be a $200 billion dollar a year industry.

Abrams takes Lang under his wing, becoming a mentor to the young upstart. "The pitch is the most important thing,? he tells Lang, "we must sell certainty.? And certainty is exactly what Lang gives; it almost becomes his middle name after a while. He picks 10 of 12, 12 of 12. The hot streak encompasses him and with that comes the luxury cars and the new house, hair cuts and suits. Streaks have a way of ending, though, and soon Lang is barely picking anything right.

The problem here is that the business of sports gambling is a very basic business based primarily on luck. In "Wall street" and "Boiler Room,? we learned the tricks of the trade (i.e., how they manage to con people out of their money). With "Money,? there are no tricks or big revelations. It doesn't matter what any of these characters does because at the end of the day it just comes down to being lucky or unlucky. We also are not given a very clear picture of how experts cheat the little guy, as it never puts us inside the head of a sports gambler. How much stock does the gambler put into these "expert" picks? Is he so deluded that he can't see the obvious guesswork being done? None of the victims are ever given much of a story but it seems as if they should know that gambling is a 50-50 deal. They seem less like the clueless boobs who got taken in "Wall Street" and "Boiler Room" and more like irresponsible sore losers.

When one character calls in tears later on after losing all his money, he earns no sympathy whatsoever. The movie also has a real lack of tension and clearly stretches credibility in its closing scenes for the purpose of achieving a satisfying ending. There is no other way to describe the "guarantee" that Walter makes when Brandon can't seem to shake his losing streak. Pacino does what he can with the role of Walter, but this is the definition of slumming for him. He is the film's only real bright spot, playing the character with a real slick sense of humor. Whether he is offending two fat guys having dinner with a sexy woman or recruiting gamblers at a gambler's anonymous meeting, he makes the movie into a slightly diverting ride to sit through. McConaughey matches him pretty well with a cocky performance of his own.

"Money" is a dead-on-arrival formula picture, though. It treads on the same story arc but doesn't give us much in the way of compelling material. In fact, I thought the most interesting part about it was that Armand Assante and Gedde Watanabe are finally making film appearances again. The movie's ?based on a true story" claim made me think back to "Lord of War,? a far better example of an interrogative piece of shady American business. I'd suggest you catch that one in theaters and leave this one for DVD or cable.

Craig's Grade: C

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%