MovieChat Forums > Casino Jack (2011) Discussion > A Wasted Opportunity, Watch the Document...

A Wasted Opportunity, Watch the Documentary Instead

posted 12 years ago by Jimbo_BSD
4 replies | jump to latest

I'm very disappointed in this film. For one, it's listed as a comedy and it's not very funny. A chuckle here and there but certainly not funny. But the part that really bothers me is how they distorted so much of the actual scandal. The documentary on the topic is a much better film in my opinion.

The film was only 90 minutes long. They could have easily added another 30 minutes and fleshed out the scandal even deeper. Of course it doesn't need to be as dry as the documentary, but they could have done so much more.

Also, I'm not sure what the director was trying to do with the obstructed views but it didn't work.

Overall I'd rate it 4/10. Some strong performances kept it from being rated lower.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

I somewhat agree. The crimes of Casino Jack weren't really anything to laugh about. Kevin Spacey is a good actor who wears his politics on his sleeve, but he doesn't really look or act anything like Jack Abramoff. Spacey's performance is sort of happy go lucky compared to the shark-like ruthlessness of the real Jack Abramoff. That was a distraction in itself.

To which documantary are you referring? I've seen the Frontline piece about Abramoff, DeLay and slave labor in the Mariannas. This affair was the worst of Abramoff's crimes and DeLay belongs in prison for his role in it.

There are obviously multiple scandels in play here, so I'm not sure which one you are reffering.

I agree with your basic point, this film could have been so much better if it explained the context of Abramoff's crimes more thouroughly. The crimes of JA are the worst instances of outside $$$ poisoning our political system in history. To compound that, JA was even scamming to folks who were using him to buy political influence. This guy should never see the light of day.

[–] Jimbo_BSD 12 years ago

Just in case you ever come back and check this is the documentary I was referring too.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540814/

[–] daddie0 11 years ago

Just to offer a counter-point, I don't agree with you. I have had the documentary in my list to view for a while, but happened to actually watch the film first. Perhaps assessment is in the order with which it is viewed?

I found the movie to be entertaining (admittedly, I'm a bit of a Kevin Spacey fan), and was surprised when watching the documentary how many of the "facts" were portrayed accurately in this film. In other words, I could speak intelligently about the scandals, and predict accurately what "should happen next" in the documentary based on the film. I saw no glaring omissions, and found the film to be way more entertaining (not that entertainment is the job of a doc, just saying).

That said, I took some stars off both this film and the documentary as they were both so obviously biased in their view--the documentary only slightly less so.

Lastly, I was very pleased that some of the "outlandish scenes" in the film were verified in the documentary which surprised me. I was convinced it was artistic license. I'd say you can watch either, and learn quite a lot.

[–] 11 years ago

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