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Directed By
D.J. Caruso
Written By:
Dan Gilroy
Cast:
Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Armand Assante, Jeremy Piven, Dan Gilroy, Kevin Chapman, Jaime King, Gedde Watanabe, Carly Pope, Gerard Plunkett, James Kirk, Charles Carroll, Ralph Garman, Ralph Garman, Craig Veroni, Chrislyn Austin
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Two For the Money (2005)
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Movie Review by Tony 
July 1st, 2006
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Poor Al Pacino. He yells, screams, holds his heart, gets his hair messed up, rants, and raves and he still can't make "Two for the Money" worth seeing. You gotta admire him trying his hardest and not phoning in his role in the least despite the piss-poor script. If you watch Robert De Niro in films like this, he looks ill, sick, and just ready to cash his check at the bank. Not Pacino. He's giving it the old college try.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Brandon Lang at the start of the film. He's a college quarterback playing in the biggest game of his career ready to lead his team to victory. I'm not giving too much way to say he does, and while he does this, he receives a career ending injury which cuts any future plans, goals, or dreams short for him. He gets a job doing hot-line reports to pay the bills and keep his head above water.
One day, he does the 900 sports betting line, and due to his experience in football, he knows a thing or two about picking the winners. He gets amazing results and uses his football knowledge to pick 80 percent of the winners. This impresses the most famous sports betting empire run by Walter Abrams played by the legendary Al Pacino. He takes the young Brandon under his wing and grooms him to be one of his most famous colleague on his TV show. He gives Brandon a new name, John Anthony and makes him over into a super star sports picker.
The first 45 minutes of "Two for the Money" were very effective. Pacino is having a lot of fun, and we are having a lot of fun watching him as he hams it up and plays this character with serious gambling problems. He claims he has quit gambling for 18 years, but everything is a gamble with him. He gambles with his marriage, with Brandon, with his job, and just about everything. He's got the sickness. He can't go a day without make some kind of bet, or gamble. Even on his condition, as he's having heart problems.
"Two for the Money" does a good job of showing that gambling is not just winning or losing. As Pacino states in one of his long winded and entertaining speeches, it's about feeling alive. To see how far you can push and when it's too much, and when the limit is crossed. McConaughey is perfectly casted as this ex jock trying to fit into this gambling world, which is not full of jocks. Full of people in over their heads.
The film is a bit too long for my liking. It runs in at 2 hours, and the last leg of the film suffers from any considerable tension or drama. It's mostly grown men looking at TV monitors, yelling, screaming, and rooting for their team. As I stated above, Pacino tries his hardest, but with no drama to film, and the film going as expected, "Two for the Money" is not worth putting your money on.
Tony Farinella
Grade: C
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