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...look at the wild, crazy, dangerous world of big time gambling. Now this is not a subject that interests me. The extent of my gambling is a 2 buck ride on a lottery ticket every Saturday. So even though this film starred an old favorite of mine, Al Pacino, I continually passed over it on the rental shelves. Then a few days ago I was having a coffee with a friend and discussing the latest gambling scandal involving the National Hockey Leage. He said if I really wanted to see what betting on sports is all about, I should see Two For The Money.
Well, I watched it last night and was glad I did. In it, Pacino plays a gambling addict, fighting his addiction, while running a huge ( and legal in this State) bookie operation. He recruits a former football pro ( Matthew McConaughy) to pick winners for the operation's clients. Pacino moulds and fine-tunes McConaughey and soon the young protege's ability to pick winning football teams takes Pacino's bookie operation to new heights, involving millions of dollars in betting.
But an intriguing subject matter is not enough to make a good story. That needs characters with flaws, and there's no shortage of that here. You have Pacino, playing the ultimate gamble involving McConaughy, and using his ( Pacino's) wife as the pawn. And there's McConaughy who, after a disasterous stretch of picking losers, is compelled to take a long hard look at what has become of his life and his often conflicting relationship with Pacino.
Pacino's over the top acting style is perfect for the character he plays in Two For The Money. And McConaughy, given decent material to work with, shows he can act and hold his own here against the old pro Pacino. The film is a bit over two hours, but it zips along with a great pace. If you like to be fascinated by both story subject and characters, this is a must see.
:4:
Well, I watched it last night and was glad I did. In it, Pacino plays a gambling addict, fighting his addiction, while running a huge ( and legal in this State) bookie operation. He recruits a former football pro ( Matthew McConaughy) to pick winners for the operation's clients. Pacino moulds and fine-tunes McConaughey and soon the young protege's ability to pick winning football teams takes Pacino's bookie operation to new heights, involving millions of dollars in betting.
But an intriguing subject matter is not enough to make a good story. That needs characters with flaws, and there's no shortage of that here. You have Pacino, playing the ultimate gamble involving McConaughy, and using his ( Pacino's) wife as the pawn. And there's McConaughy who, after a disasterous stretch of picking losers, is compelled to take a long hard look at what has become of his life and his often conflicting relationship with Pacino.
Pacino's over the top acting style is perfect for the character he plays in Two For The Money. And McConaughy, given decent material to work with, shows he can act and hold his own here against the old pro Pacino. The film is a bit over two hours, but it zips along with a great pace. If you like to be fascinated by both story subject and characters, this is a must see.
:4:
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