21

Everything I learned about black jack I learned from a book called Bringing Down the House. It is the book on which this movie is based. My love for the book lead to an unusual excitement for this movie. I say unusual because nothing about the trailer made the movie look like something people needed to see. Add to that the fact that I am not a Vegas guy nor a gambling guy, it seems weird I wanted to see this movie so badly. Also, before I go any further, I try to not be one of those elitist jerks who says "well the book is better than the movie." I understand movies have to do in a little over 2hrs what a book can do in 500 pages. I do not judge a movie based on how the book was or what was in the book. This wills strictly be about the movie, 21.

Ben Campbell(Jim Sturgess) is an extremely bright college student with a rain man like quality when it comes to numbers. He is also from a fairly poor family and is trying to get into Harvard Medical School. If he does not get the full ride scholarship given to only 1 student, he will have to come up with $300,000.00. Ben is a total nerd who spends his nights with his two best friends trying to create a robot car, but he and his friends dream of having a life adventure and he dreams of scoring the hottest MIT girl ever, Jill Taylor(Kate Bosworth). One night as he is studying he is approached by Fisher(Jacob Pitts) who tells Ben he must him. When they reach their destination, Ben sees a room with his favorite Professor, Mikey Rosa(Kevin Spacey), Jill Taylor and two others. They are playing black jack. Well, they are counting cards. Ben is offered a spot on the MIT black jack team and is promised more money and more fun than he could possibly imagine. He is resistant at first, but Jill with her piercing blue eyes and big, sexy pouty lips is very persuasive. Ben is a pro at counting card and he is soon winning ungodly amounts of money, very quickly. Each team member changes persona's depending on the Casino and soon the reserved Ben is a full on big time player in the world of Vegas. It all seems perfect but the more popular and into Black jack he gets in Vegas, the worse things get for him at school and before to long everything he "worked" for is gone and his gambling addiction truly cost him everything.

As movies go, this is one of the most slick I have seen in a while. The clothes, performances, locations, camera shots and everything else are extremely slick and polished, much like everything in Las Vegas. Sturgess, whose dreamy earnest eyes caught my attention in Across the Universe, puts on a very believable American accent and is very good in transitioning between MIT nerd and Vegas hot shot. He looks good in all of the suits and he captures Ben's descent into addiction pretty well. Bosworth is mostly eye candy, and while she is a little too skinny for my taste, she looks damn good all dolled up in Las Vegas. She has a very nice sexual chemistry with Sturgess and actually gives a bit of depth to a stock character. Laurence Fishbourne who shows up as a Casino loss prevention officer on the heels of catching Ben, is a true thug, but a veteran thug who knows his livelihood is nearing its end. The true star though is Spacey. Spacey is in pure snarky, leader of the pack form here. He really gets to let loose as the Professor with a dark past of gambling. He plays the devil almost as he shows he doesn't really care about anyone, just the money. Every time he is on screen the movie gets a bit more exciting, but he never over steps his bounds and lets the young cast get theirs.

I was never bored, even if I felt they could have tightened the story up a bit and the shots of Black Jack actually make the game look a lot more exciting than it really is. The direction is fast and the editing is a little choppy but it actually works with the overall style of the film. Sure, it is probably a lot more style over substance, but that is not to say there is no substance to be found. 21 captures how devastating gambling addiction can be and how devastating losing yourself can be. However, it wraps things up in a pretty little Hollywood bow, which is my chief complaint about the movie. I did not think the mostly happy ending went with the themes, but I understand the American public demands the bad guys get theirs and the good guys find redemption.

Overall this is thoroughly entertaining movie that is not ruined by the typical ending. The performances are strong and the direction is interesting and the pace never gets bogged down. Here comes my little bit about the book- If you enjoyed 21, I highly suggest seeking out Bringing down the House by Ben Mezrich. The movie focuses solely on the Las Vegas exploits, but the book gets to delve even deeper into what happened each of the members of this real life team. While it is a non fiction book it reads as quickly as a fictional story. I really enjoyed the movie and it actually makes me want to read the book all over again.

Final Grade: B+