Casino Jack (DVD, 2011) The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. Lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to the conviction of himself, two White House officials, Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers.
| Casino Jack | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Hickenlooper |
| Produced by | Gary Howsam Bill Marks George Zakk |
| Written by | Norman Snider |
| Starring | Kevin Spacey Barry Pepper Rachelle Lefevre Kelly Preston Jon Lovitz Maury Chaykin |
| Music by | Jonathan Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Adam Swica |
| Edited by | William Steinkamp |
Hannibal Pictures Rollercoaster Entertainment | |
| Distributed by | Art Takes Over Films (ATO) |
| |
| 108 minutes | |
| Country | Canada[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12.5 million |
| Box office | $1.1 million[2] |
Casino Jack (known in certain territories as Bagman) is a 2010 comedy-dramathriller film directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C. lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two White House officials, Rep.Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in 2006,[3] and of trading expensive gifts, meals and sports trips in exchange for political favors.[4][5] Abramoff served three and a half years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a halfway house. He was released on December 3, 2010.
Spacey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Abramoff, eventually losing to Paul Giamatti for his role in Barney's Version.[6]
Plot[edit]
A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.
Cast[edit]
- Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff
- Kelly Preston as Pam Abramoff
- Rachelle Lefevre as Emily J. Miller
- Barry Pepper as Michael Scanlon
- Jon Lovitz as Adam Kidan
- John David Whalen as Kevin A. Ring
- Yannick Bisson as Oscar Carillo
- Graham Greene as Bernie Sprague
- Eric Schweig as Chief Poncho
- Maury Chaykin as Big Tony
- Christian Campbell as Ralph Reed
- Spencer Garrett as Tom DeLay
- Joe Pingue as Anthony Ferrari
- David Fraser as Karl Rove
- Jeffrey R. Smith as Grover Norquist
- Daniel Kash as Gus Boulis
- Conrad Pla as Agent Hanley
- Hannah Endicott-Douglas as Sarah Abramoff
- Ruth Marshall as Susan Schmidt
- Reid Morgan as Brian Mann
- Duke Redbird as Senator Nighthorse
Production[edit]
Filming took place in June 2009 in various locations across Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, including McMaster University and downtown Hamilton. The film was scheduled for release in December 2010 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.[7]
This was Hickenlooper's final film. He died on October 29, 2010, seven weeks before its scheduled December 17, 2010, national opening.[8]
Reception[edit]
Casino Jack received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 39%, based on 97 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, 'Kevin Spacey turns in one of his stronger performances, but Casino Jack is a disappointingly uneven fictionalized account of a fascinating true story.'[9] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'.[10]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating that 'Casino Jack is so forthright, it is stunning.'[11]
References[edit]
- ^'Casino Jack -- Film Review by Michael Rechtshaffen'. thehollywoodreporter.com. October 14, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^'Casino Jack (2010)'. Box Office Mojo. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Help in Corruption ProbeArchived December 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^'US lobbyist jailed for corruption'. BBC News. 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^'Abramoff Gets Reduced Sentence of Four Years in Prison'. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^Kevin SpaceyArchived August 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Evans, Ian (2010), 'Casino Jack premiere photos - 35th Toronto International Film Festival', DigitalHit.com, retrieved 2012-04-10
- ^'Entertainment News, Celebrity Interviews and Pop Culture - ABC News'. Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
- ^'Casino Jack (2010)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^'Casino Jack Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
- ^Ebert, Roger. 'Casino Jack'. RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC.
External links[edit]
- Casino Jack at AllMovie
- Casino Jack at Box Office Mojo
- Casino Jack on IMDb
- Casino Jack at Metacritic
- Casino Jack at Rotten Tomatoes
- Casino Jack production website at Hannibal Pictures
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CASINO JACK, 2010
Movie Reviews
Directed by George Hickenlooper
Starring Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz, Rachelle Lefevre, Maury Chaykin, Daniel Kash
Review by Mark Engberg
SYNOPSIS:
The disastrous career of former Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff is represented in this political biopic that examines the multiple cases of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion that led to his conviction in a federal court.
Release Date: 17 December 2010 (USA)
Casino Jack Movie Online Watch
REVIEW:
“Everything is negotiable.” That is one of the taglines for George Hickenlooper’s final film, “Casino Jack”, which is based on the true events leading to Washingtonian lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s current incarceration in a federal prison. Everything, Mr. Hickenlooper, except death. The director died in his sleep on October 29th of an apparent heart attack while promoting the film in Denver.
of ballet. Even though the movie had already been enjoying comfortable word-of-mouth spin by critics who had the chance to review it before its national release, (also goes for online gambling news where you will only find few articles that offer good content quality or will give you enough information about online game) it is indeed sad that Hickenlooper will not relish in the probable praise his biopic will render. Then again, most people will likely spend their accolades on Spacey and neglect anyone behind the camera. No disrespect intended for the late Hickenlooper, but it is not one of those movies that will incite the audience to rant about the cinematic direction.
As for Spacey, he plays the part with that same confident and arrogant swagger that made his performances so memorable in “Swimming with Sharks” and “Glengarry Glenn Ross”. His portrayal of Abramoff is an egotistic and boisterous representation of the slick and deceitful businessman whose activities ultimately caused the resignations of Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).
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In 2006, Abramoff pled guilty in federal court to three felony charges related to defrauding American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars and corrupting public officials in Congress with illegal gift-giving. In addition to filling their pockets with multimillion-dollar profits, he and his partner Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper) set up a foundation to finance golf trips to Scotland for politicians as well as Abramoff’s colleagues. In return, lawmakers like Ney would agree to push legislation Abramoff’s way in order to benefit his tribal clients and their casinos and blackjack game. DeLay accumulated more funds directly from the lobbyist than any other member of Congress.
Jack Abramoff
And this is not a shocking story, particularly for anyone familiar with the money-laundering schemes that are so typical in Washington. Like Alex Gibney’s documentary, “Casino Jack and the United States of Money”, Hickenlooper’s movie focuses on Abramoff’s uncanny abilities to influence legislators with money and expensive gifts. But the story gets even darker with Abramoff’s involvement with the purchase of SunCruz cruise line casinos, “cruises to nowhere”, which transported passengers into international waters beyond the reach of federal and state gambling laws.
For this endeavor, Abramoff enlisted former H.W. Bush campaigner Adam Kidan (Jon Lovitz, in perfect sleeze) as a figurehead for the gambling vessels. Since ethics rules within Abramoff’s firm prohibited him from representing as both buyer and seller in the deal, he had to hide behind Kidan while using his political connections to support the deal in Washington. This is where Ney dirtied his hands by aiding Abramoff’s efforts in the House on several occasions.
The sail of this ship got even rockier when Kidan and former SunCruz owner Konstantinos Boulis (Daniel Kash) clashed over allegations regarding missing payments. Boulis alleged that Kidan has associations with organized crime and was shot to death in February 2001. You can connect the dots yourself to draw Boulis’ chalk outline.
In essence, “Casino Jack” is a dizzying epic of dirty politics. It is yet another depiction of White America screwing the Native Americans out of what was rightfully theirs. And Spacey glad-handles every character in the film, including his wife Pam (Kelly Preston) with empty promises and spot-on celebrity impersonations. In ways comparable to Woody Harrelson’s remarkable portrayal of Larry Flynnt, Spacey personifies Abramoff’s endless greed with nuances that are not favorable, but nonetheless pointedly accurate. He is basically a puppet master who uses one hand to entertain his audience members, while the other one searches their back pockets.
Casino Jack full movie, online
Barry Pepper (the sniper from “Saving Private Ryan”) delivers a breakthrough performance as Scanlon, whose reckless lust for young women obliterated their precarious house of cards. The film does not infer that Abramoff’s shell games are abnormal or unusual in the corrupt arena of American politics. However, it does imply that Abramoff would have likely gotten away with these ventures had it not been for the careless nature of his business partners. To put it in gambling terms, the lobbyist simply crapped out when he was on winning streak, even though he was rolling with loaded dice.
Hickenlooper’s family can be proud that the director embraced the divisive subject of fraudulent business and back scratching politics for his final picture. The content of “Casino Jack” may not be surprising to those familiar with the unethical conduct of Washingtonian lobbyists. But Spacey and Pepper succeed in making this film entertaining, as it is educational in its depiction of American corruption.
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