Two for the Money

Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Al Pacino	Walter Abrams
Matthew McConaughey	Brandon Lang
Rene Russo	Toni Morrow
Armand Assante	Novian
Jeremy Piven	Jerry
Jaime King	Alexandria
Kevin Chapman	Southie
Ralph Garman	Reggie
Gedde Watanabe	Milton
Carly Pope	Tammy

Director	D.J. Caruso
Producer	Jay Cohen; James G. Robinson
Writer	Dan Gilroy

Two for the Money has a formidable cast: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, and Rene Russo (Get Shorty) play compulsive personalities caught up in the high-testosterone world of sports betting. Brandon Lang (McConaughey, Sahara), a once-promising football player sidelined by an injury, has an uncanny knack for totting up the statistics and personalities involved in any football game and picking the winner. But he doesn't gamble himself: He offers tips via a phone line. His string of successful picks attracts the attention of Walter Abrams (Pacino, The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon), a man building a media empire on sports tips, even though he himself can only resist his own gambling addiction thanks to the fierce devotion of his wife, Toni (Russo, Tin Cup, Get Shorty). Brandon swiftly becomes Walter's protege and transforms into an aggressive, high-risk salesman, even going so far as to change his name to create a new self. But when Brandon starts to think of his knack as magic, everything Walter has built around his golden boy starts to teeter. Two for the Money starts with punchy dialogue and razzle-dazzle acting, but midway it starts to founder; the characters never quite feel real, the plot grows labored and implausible, and the basic themes--gambling, addiction--turn vague and fuzzy. The actors have charisma to burn, but they can't overcome an unfocused script. Also featuring Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Armand Assante (The Mambo Kings), and Jaime King (Bulletproof Monk). --Bret Fetzer