21 (2008)

"21" is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writers:

Peter Steinfeld (screenplay), Allan Loeb (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Sturgess	...	Ben
Kevin Spacey	...	Micky Rosa
Kate Bosworth	...	Jill
Aaron Yoo	...	Choi
Liza Lapira	...	Kianna
Jacob Pitts	...	Fisher
Laurence Fishburne	...	Cole Williams
Jack McGee	...	Terry
Josh Gad	...	Miles
Sam Golzari	...	Cam
Helen Carey	...	Ellen Campbell
Jack Gilpin	...	Bob Phillips
Donna Lows	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer
Butch Williams	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer
Ben Campbell	...	Planet Hollywood Dealer Jeff (as Jeffrey Ma)

Storyline

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent, student at M.I.T. in Boston who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine with the desire to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 for the four to five years of schooling as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor Micky Rosa into a small but secretive club of five. Students Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa of the skill of card counting at blackjack. Intrigued by the desire to make money, Ben joins his new friends on secret weekend trips to Las Vegas where, using their skills of code talk and hand signals, they have Ben make hundreds of thousands of dollars in winning blackjack at casino after casino. Ben only wants to make enough money for the tuition to Harvard and then back out. But as fellow card counter, Jill Taylor, predicts, Ben becomes corrupted by greed ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on true story | card counting | blackjack | massachusetts institute of technology | gambling | 

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Taglines:

They proved the Vegas Blackjack System was beatable - by beating the hell out of it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, and sexual content including partial nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main characters upon which the film 21 is based were Asian. Controversially, mostly Caucasian actors were cast. Jim Sturgess required a dialect coach to speak with an American accent.

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Goofs

Ben loses to a high-rolling Blackjack dealer at the Red Rock Casino. When he goes back to the suite, Micky is yelling at him. Since Micky has been counting blackjack for a very long time, he should have known that counting cards means losing a lot before winning big.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ben Campbell: [narrating] 'Winner, winner, chicken dinner.' Those words had been dancing around my head all night. I mean, it's Vegas lore, that phrase. Just ask any of the old-time pit bosses, they'll know. It was a Chinese dealer at Binion's who was first credited with the line. He would shout it every time he dealt blackjack. That was over 40 years ago, and the words still catch. 'Winner, winner, chicken dinner.' Yeah, try it. I had heard it at least 14 times that night. I couldn't lose. First...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Greek: Let's Make a Deal (2008)

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Soundtracks

I am the Unknown
Written and Performed by The Aliens
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Slick and polished like a blackjack table, and a complete delight

"21" was the official Opening Night Film of the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. The film is based on the true story of a group of MIT students who use their math skills to "beat the house" at blackjack in the Las Vegas casinos. Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde") directed the Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb adaptation of Ben Mezrich's bestselling book "Bringing Down the House."

"21" is pure Hollywood all the way -- slick and polished, like the wardrobes and personalities inhabited by the kids in their transformation to high rollers. The tight ensemble cast includes Kate Bosworth and Jacob Pitts as team players and Laurence Fishburne as a security chief with a massive dilemma on his hands. But the show belongs to Kevin Spacey as professor Mickey Rosa, mastermind behind the escapade, and Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, the reluctant recruit who drives the film as it barrels headlong to a breathless climax.

The script is clever, funny, and worthy of math geeks everywhere, and the widescreen action is as nonstop as that on the casino floor. Spacey is Spacey at his best -- just the Kevin we know, nothing more, nothing less -- and that's good enough. Sturgess, a Brit playing an American here (quite well, by the way), proves that he is destined for stardom in the States.

In the intro to the screening, Luketic explained how Spacey had bought the rights to Mezrich's book, leading to his having to fight to win the actor over and let him direct the film. Memo to Kevin: thank you. And, whatever you do, wait for the end credits. The stunning remix of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is almost worth the price of admission.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

21 - The Movie

Filming Locations:

Doyle's Pub - 3484 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,105,943, 30 March 2008

Gross USA:

$81,159,365

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$159,808,370

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Trigger Street Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1