Casino Jack (2010)

A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.

Director:

George Hickenlooper

Writer:

Norman Snider

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Ruth Marshall, Barry Pepper

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Jack Abramoff
Ruth Marshall	...	Susan Schmidt
Graham Greene	...	Bernie Sprague
Hannah Endicott-Douglas	...	Sarah Abramoff
Barry Pepper	...	Michael Scanlon
John Robinson	...	Federal Agent Patterson
Jason Weinberg	...	Snake
Spencer Garrett	...	Tom DeLay
Yok Come Ho	...	Asian Factory Worker
Anna Hardwick	...	Lobbyist #2
John David Whalen	...	Kevin Ring
Matt Gordon	...	Bill Jarrell
Jeffrey R. Smith	...	Grover Norquist
Christian Campbell	...	Ralph Reed
Eric Schweig	...	Chief Poncho

Storyline

A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.

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Plot Keywords:

lobbyist | corruption | washington d.c. | murder | washington d.c. lobbyist | 

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Taglines:

Honor. Integrity. Principles. Everything is Negotiable.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 2010 (Estonia)

Also Known As:

Bagman

Filming Locations:

Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$34,528 (USA) (17 December 2010)

Gross:

$1,039,869 (USA) (1 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bagman (2009), Rollercoaster Entertainment, An Olive Branch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real life Susan Schmidt played Jack's secretary in this movie.

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Goofs

When Michael Scanlon drives up to the SunSail cruise ship in Florida to see Gus Boulis, the front of his rental car has a Florida license plate. Additionally, another car appears with a Florida license on the front. License plates for automobiles are printed on one tag only and must be placed on the rear of the vehicle. Only commercial tractor trucks carry Florida plates on the front.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Abramoff: You know, I do a shitload of reading and studying and praying, and I've come to a few conclusions I want to share. People look at politicians and celebrities on the TV and the newspapers, glossy magazines - what do they see? "I'm just like them." That's what they say. "I'm special. I'm different. I could be any one of them." Well guess what, you can't. You know why? Cause in reality, mediocrity is where most people live. Mediocrity is the elephant in the room. It's ubiquitous. ...

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Crazy Credits

Brief footage of the real Jack Abramoff's introduction speech of Tom DeLay is shown during the end credits.

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Connections

References Judge Judy (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Eddie's Got a Mustang"
Written by Chris Burke-Gaffney / Arun Chaturvedi / Darrelyne Bickel
Performed by Darrelyne Bickel

User Reviews

Wrong bet

In a world in turmoil the world of politics, big business and the profligate space in between has been increasingly nominated to be the devil's Trojan horse in modern day society. No one better fits the bill of demon spawn than Jack Abramoff (played intuitively by a potent Kevin Spacey). Working as a lobbyist to the Capitol with intimate ties to the White House and Goerge W. Bush Jr. he as full access to the decision-making quarters and apt opportunities for political racketing and profiteering. Amongst his most pronounced victims Indian tribes in boom thanks to the newly developed gambling business. Money is the motivator, albeit Abramoff, unlike his partner Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper), does have a misguided sense of communal responsibility, limited however to investment in Jewish educational facilities and development of kosher restaurants.

A movie about a man, who wanted it all - power, influence and money - but caught fire by overreaching and losing perspective. In the end the high-life tumbles around him to engulf him. Such a strong potential story...

But such an aseptic delivery. The events unfold in a leisurely, almost sluggish, manor, weaving the fabric of deceipt, lies and overblown egos. They do not however knit together into a well-prepped end result, but incite a sense of lethargy and disinterest, which degrades the plausible performance by the cast, fronted by Kevin Spacey. With so much substantive source material "Casino Jack" perpetuates a mean task by boring the hell out of viewers and fumbling to convey the magnitude of the downfall, mainly owed to a lack of focus throughout. not to mention that some key dots were never connected, leaving holes as to what happened and why.

Thankfully the horrendous awareness that this is in fact a true story, with people cheated and taken for a ride, adds a subconscious punch to presented reenactments. Essentially it does manage to deliver a poignant message regarding the true nature of lobbying and its functionality. Abramoff's case was specific as he attempted to bite of more than he can chew, but the reality is that these are everyday shenanigans, albeit of a lesser, more self-controlled, scale. Despite the culmination delivering a sub-par punch, the message manages to burrow inside and create a well-deserved backlash at reality.