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Film review

Good movie? Don't bet on it

Despite its star power, Two for the Money deals out a lot of plot points, then discards them before they have a chance of paying off.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published October 6, 2005

[Photo: Universal Pictures]

Al Pacino, left, overacts again as a big-time handicapper, with Matthew McConaughey as his protege.

LET’S CHAT Check out Times film critic Steve Persall’s blog.

If there's anything dumber than football in the movies, it's watching people watching football on television in the movies.

In Two for the Money, impossibly slick sports handicappers sell betting tips to gamblers with more dollars than sense. Both groups need winners just to cover their Circuit City bills, judging from the number of flat-screen TVs required to watch their money come and go. The coolest one is built into a wall and swivels for easy viewing in two rooms. That's a rare creative touch in this movie.

Two for the Money could be subtitled The Devil's Bookie, since Al Pacino again takes a flamethrower to subtlety while making a Faustian deal. Matthew McConaughey may be the only actor who seems more likely to fall for it than Keanu Reeves did in The Devil's Advocate.

McConaughey plays Brandon Lang, deserted by his jock father at 10 and now the only college quarterback with crow's feet. A grotesque knee injury ends his playing career, but mama needs rent money and baby brother has a car to soup up. Brandon takes a job recording ads for a 1-900 phone service that sells point spread tips.

Brandon doesn't seem capable of spelling "cat" without being spotted the "c" and "a," but he is a whiz at picking football games. His success rate grabs the attention of big-time handicapper Walter Abrams (Pacino), who makes him an offer he can't refuse. Two for the Money shifts into Wall Street mode, with the temptations of success ruining Brandon's values until he sees the light.

But aside from the weekly wins and losses everyone watches on TV and the celebrations or wakes that follow, what is this movie about? So many characters appear ready to stir up drama, then disappear, that I fear there's a four-hour version waiting for the DVD release.

A fired co-worker (Jeremy Piven) and the high roller (Armand Assante) who lost millions when Brandon's picks flopped could make more trouble than they do. Maybe they could team up and kidnap Brandon's bimbo (Jaime King), giving her more to do than a sex scene and a brushoff.

There's also a possibility for Brandon to seduce Walter's wife, Toni (Rene Russo), but that dissolves in a ludicrous finale.

Pacino's compulsive showboating occasionally enlivens the movie - Walter's intrusion on a Gamblers Anonymous meeting is a small gem - and just as often seems prone to self-parody. Even Walter's medical and gambling problems and Brandon's workout addiction are topics that keep coming up and go nowhere.

It's like watching all those TV screens and each one is tuned to a different channel.

Grade: D

Director: D.J. Caruso

Cast: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Jeremy Piven, Armand Assante, Jaime King

Screenplay: Dan Gilroy

Rating: R; strong profanity, brief nudity, sensuality

Running time: 120 min.

[Last modified October 5, 2005, 10:24:08]