A morality play about the pervasiveness of sports gambling in America.
Two for the Money (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:107
Fresh:22
Rotten:85
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: Despite its sportsmanlike swagger, Two for the Money’s aimless plot isn't worth betting on.
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Two For the Money is a drama of high stakes set in the adrenalized world of wheeler-dealers whose fortunes are won and lost betting on sports. Matthew McConaughey stars as Brandon Lang, a former... Two For the Money is a drama of high stakes set in the adrenalized world of wheeler-dealers whose fortunes are won and lost betting on sports. Matthew McConaughey stars as Brandon Lang, a former college football star whose uncanny ability to predict the outcome of a game introduces him to an unexpected new career when his gridiron glory is sidelined by a crushing injury. Brandon's talent makes him a prime candidate for recruitment by Walter Abrams (Oscar®-winner Al Pacino), the head of one of the biggest sports consulting operations in the country. Walter hires the small town ex-athlete and grooms him into a shrewd front man. Brandon soon begins to enjoy his status as a Manhattan golden boy and finds himself growing comfortable with Walter's high-rolling lifestyle. The surrogate father/surrogate son relationship fattens Walter's business and personal accounts...until Brandon's golden touch begins to falter at the same time that Walter's manipulation of his protégé crosses the line. With millions of dollars on the line, Brandon and Walter engage in a deadly game of con versus con, each one trying to maintain the upper hand while everyone in their world, including Walter's wife, Toni (Rene Russo), are drawn into the escalating duel-where ultimately everything isn't what it appears to be. A taut "who's conning whom?" drama, Two For the Money is a Morgan Creek production, directed by D. J. Caruso (Taking Lives), written by Dan Gilroy and produced by James G. Robinson and Jay Cohen. The film is executive-produced by Guy McElwaine and David Robinson. --© Universal Pictures [More]
Starring: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Armand Assante, Rene Russo
Starring: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Armand Assante, Rene Russo, Jaime King, Jeremy Piven, Ralph Garman
Director: D.J. Caruso
Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenwriter: Dan Gilroy
Producer: James G. Robinson, Jay Cohen
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Two for the Money
...[a] stylish yet anemic gambling drama. In short, Money is about as bankable as a defective slot machine in search for its own payoff.
Pacino's too hyper, Russo's too thin, but McConaughey is smooth as silk.
Critics are likely to interpret Pacino's work as intentional self-parody, because he's smart enough to know that he's played this kind of unhinged father figure too many times
Gilroy loads up his script with more junk than a portly teenager at a TCBY toppings station
Two for the Money lets Pacino be Pacino, only one of the film's weak links
At least when Pacino does one for the money, he doesn’t look nearly as miserable as De Niro does in similar cinematic circumstances.
The movie has a lot of built-in flash and is thus mildly entertaining, though the running time grinds it down.
Pacino is a one-man three-ring circus, blustering, capering, cursing, raging and weaseling his way through this predictable morality play like a trickster Satan on speed.
Pacino is having a blast, and so might the viewer, at least until our scenery muncher finally gobbles all the foliage mid-way through the picture.
If Two for the Money maintained the same backbone as its alluring stars, it could have done much more than just break even.
Sports gambling! Big money, big games, big romance, big stars. Double down, all in. Problem is, the game's crooked.
In its second half, Two for the Money drags like an extra-innings game between teams with no chance of reaching the playoffs.
Perhaps everyone involved in making this movie can form a new kind of 'anonymous' chapter -- Hackaholics Anonymous, dedicated to conquering that urge to make mediocre films one day at a time.
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