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21

For high-stakes drama, stick with 'The Price is Right'

By Matt Pais

Metromix
March 27, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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The $300,000 that soft-spoken MIT geek Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess of "Across the Universe" and "The Other Boleyn Girl") needs to pay for Harvard Medical School suddenly seems attainable when a devious professor (Kevin Spacey) invites him to join a team of student card counters who use math to conquer blackjack. While Ben's raking in the bucks and crushing on his teammate (Kate Bosworth), a Vegas casino consultant (Laurence Fishburne) starts to wonder if some "Rain Man"-style cheating is going on.

Big question: Can director Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde," "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!," "Monster-in-Law") capture the risky, big-money action behind this mostly true story, adapted from the non-fiction bestseller "Bringing Down the House"?

Skip it: Sturgess seems like he’d lose a personality contest with a cardboard box, and his inability to fake charisma or excitement means we never believe he could fool Vegas muscle into thinking he's just a good/lucky gambler. That pretty much destroys the intrigue of the premise--we're betting the real version of Ben wasn't such a transparent bundle of nerves--though Luketic's lack of energy at the tables, the dullness of the action away from them and the beyond-ridiculous ending don't help either.

Catch it: To see how easy it is to sneak $250,000 through airport security. Finally, another reason to break out those old, baggy jeans!

Bottom line: Card counting is fascinating but the overlong "21" isn't despite some slimy pizzazz from Spacey, who realizes that tricking Vegas out of its money is serious business that's also serious fun. With no moral questions or heart-pumping drama to anchor a good story, "21" arrives at the table with a handful of chips and drops them all over the floor.

Bonus: On the night of his 21st birthday, Ben's mom tells him, "Don't come home before 3." Nice encouragement, but does anyone else think "21st birthday" and "parental approval" don't really belong in the same conversation?

Video: Watch the review of '21'

What do you think of '21'? Email me: mpais@tribune.com