By Matt Brunson
CASINO JACK
DIRECTED BY George Hickenlooper
STARS Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper
2010 saw the release of an informative and entertaining movie about Jack Abramoff, the powerful right-wing lobbyist who ended up behind bars for bribing public officials and swindling Native American tribes. Unfortunately for the makers of the feature film Casino Jack, that would be Alex Gibney’s documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money.
This new Casino Jack — like Country Strong, opening wider after a year-end Oscar-qualifying run — finds Kevin Spacey essaying the role of Abramoff, although the lack of surprises in the actor’s performance always reminds us that it’s Kevin Spacey, not Jack Abramoff, up there on the screen. Abramoff is a hideous human being in real life, but writer Norman Snider and the late director George Hickenlooper make the mistake of attempting to humanize this Washington weasel by adding self-righteous monologues, unconvincing moments of introspection and an it’s-all-the-system’s-fault! approach. Admittedly, flawed or conflicted protagonists are generally more interesting than out-and-out heroes or villains, but that’s not a requirement, as such pictures as Scarface and Peeping Tom have proven.
The film’s biggest fault is that it tackles the whole sordid affair like a comedy. A surreal satire that accentuates the absurd might have worked (think Robert Altman or even Blake Edwards), but Hickenlooper adopts a loud, jokey approach that often relies on buffoonish performances (the cast includes Jon Lovitz), a slapstick pace, and too much attention paid to Abramoff’s fondness for mimicry. Yet given the real-life tragedies instigated by Abramoff and his Republican buddies like Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed and George W. Bush (who predictably claimed not to even know Abramoff after the scandals broke), I doubt many people will be laughing.
This article appears in Jan 4-10, 2011.
I saw Casino Jack this afternoon. The theater was crowded and yes, people were laughing. The audience seemed to enjoy it from the comments I overheard once it was over.
I did see the documentary. It bombed at the theater where I work. It was too long and repeated all the info over and over. Casino Jack was much more entertaining and it told the same story.
Oh brother. Movie bad, Bush badder. Why don’t you just go watch W, take a deep breath, and then review the movie without all the usual whining.
Hey Gene — Tell us, again, what specific experience you have with reviewing movies? I assume you have a lot since you’re going to the trouble of giving us all the benefit of your opinion. (No, just listening to what others say as they’re leaving the theater doesn’t really count.) Oh, no experience, really? Then please let me treat you to a big steaming cup of STFU.