A Gamblers Anonymous meeting is underway, and Walter Abrams and the protégé he rechristened John Anthony (Matthew McConaughey) sit in a circle of people.
After the confession of a GA lifer, Walter gets up. But it’s Al Pacino who takes over.
The best writing in the sports-gambling flick “Two for the Money” (screenplay by Dan Gilroy) becomes a far, far better thing on Pacino’s lips.
Sure, Walter has those manic swings in enunciation that have marked many a Pacino character. But then Walter’s a salesman. And Pacino revels in his character’s manipulative skills but also exposes his malformed generosity.
“Gambling’s not the problem,” he tells his rapt listeners. “We’re the problem. We’re lemons. We’re addicted to losing.
“I never feel more alive than when they’re raking the chips away … not raking them in.”
To borrow from the overheated language of the film’s productions notes: Pacino is as close to a sure bet as a director can find. That’s not to say every film Pacino’s in is a winner. But odds are better than good the actor will deliver exquisite moments or at the very least, a scene-chewing act of bravado.
Thanks to Pacino, but also McConaughey and Rene Russo, “Two for the Money,” directed by D.J. Caruso delivers a better than decent pay out.
Of course, as seductive as Walter’s observations are, they’re a crock. After all, Walter has chosen a troubling way to make a living. His company is part of the $200 billion-a-year sports betting economy. While gambling’s illegal, advising gamblers isn’t. And Sports Advisors employs handicappers and rows of salesman to tout winners for – most often – losers.
McConaughey plays Brandon Lang/John Anthony, a phenomenally gifted handicapper of football games for a 900-number call center. Lang is to this tale of over-the-top mentorship what Charlie Sheen was in “Wall Street.” Only McConaughey’s jus’ folks drawl and palpable decency make Lang far more sympathetic.
A star athlete from childhood, Brandon was quarterbacking a college bowl game when he made a dash for the end zone. As Chris Berman says when it’s a foregone conclusion: He could go all the way. Only Lang’s run ends with his leg bent at an ungodly angle.
If he were John Elway, this would remain a sports story. But “inspired by a true story” of a writer Gilroy met, it isn’t about the purity of the game. It’s about the muck that surrounds it and feeds off of it.
Walter recruits Brandon when no team will. He also gives him a new identity, a sleeker profile. For a brief, shining moment, Sports Advisors rides “Million Dollar Man” John Anthony’s winning streak.
As the movie cranks up the soundtrack and Lang sloughs off more of his identity to don the pricey accessories of John Anthony, the film risks becoming too enamored with its characters’ gray market ethics to offer us new, let alone redeeming, insights. That’s where a losing streak, and Russo, comes in.
Gilroy wrote the part of Walter’s wife, Toni, for his own mate, Russo. Her presence is hardly nepotism. As she has in past films (“Tin Cup,” “The
Thomas Crown Affair”), Russo steps in when a guys’ movie requires a grown-up gal to make it better.
Walter relies on Toni to detect BS. And “Two for the Money” leans smartly on Russo as the grounding wire between its sparking leads.
The film rides on the believable chemistry of its trio. If it doesn’t go all the way, it certainly sprints toward a climax that feels like a gripping 2-minute drill.
*** | “Two for the Money”
R for pervasive language, a scene of sexuality and a violent act|2 hours, 2 minutes|SPORTS DRAMA|Directed by D.J. Caruso; written by Dan Gilroy; photography by Conrad W. Hall; starring Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Armand Assante, Jeremy Piven, Jaime King |Opens today at area theaters.
