Movie with Abe: Casino Jack

Casino Jack
Directed by George Hickenlooper
Released December 17, 2010

Earlier this year, a documentary called “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” chronicled the activities of Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose corrupt wheelings and dealings landed him a six-year federal prison sentence. Abramoff’s trial was sensational mostly for the sheer amount of influence he exerted and the number of people involved in unlawful activities in connection with him. The late director George Hickenlooper, who passed away suddenly in Denver in October at the age of 47, brings Abramoff’s story to the screen in an inspired take with a diverse cast that even includes funnyman Jon Lovitz of “Saturday Night Live” and “Rat Race” in a supporting role, if only to emphasize its status as a comedy.

Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey plays Abramoff, the smooth-talking, extraordinarily popular lobbyist with connections to and dirt on pretty much everyone in Washington. Spacey is fierce, furious, and energetic in his portrayal of Abramoff, fervently declaring in front of a mirror, toothbrush in hand, in the film’s opening scene, “I’m Jack Abramoff and, oh yeah, I work out every day.” There’s a sense that perhaps Spacey is just playing Spacey since the real Abramoff couldn’t possibly be this wild a character. Like Robin Williams and his portrayal of real-life radio personality Adrian Cronauer in “Good Morning, Vietnam,” however, it’s hardly a bad thing, since seeing the performer craft a creative take on a real person is infinitely more fascinating than mimicry (see also Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network" for a more subdued example).

Spacey did actually speak to Abramoff while he was in jail during the production of the film, and he was certain not to do too much research beforehand that might influence his perception of the man. Spacey particularly wanted to be sure that he didn’t play Abramoff as the “caricature he had become; a one-dimensional villain made out to be the greediest devil incarnate on earth.” the other actors took a different approach. Lovitz, who plays Abramoff associate and mattress franchise owner Adam Kidan, researched his character but emphasized sticking to the script over basing the performance on the real-life person.

On the surface, the events of “Casino Jack” might seem serious and even rather disturbing. Yet the way they’re documented and realized in the film is considerably lighter than might be expected, enabling it to be superbly entertaining and quite funny. Lovitz notes that there was humor in the script that was obvious and that there was “simply no other way to do it.” Costar Barry Pepper, who plays Abramoff’s good friend and number one partner Michael Scanlon, notes that the film is still a “cautionary and morality tale about democracy” and can “help open our eyes to our responsibility as citizens.” Whether it’s a retelling of actual events or a comical farce, “Casino Jack” is an amusing and fun film, if nothing more than that.

B-

Movie with Abe: Casino Jack and the United States of Money

Casino Jack and the United States of Money
Directed by Alex Gibney
Released May 7, 2010

Political documentaries are often the most interesting kind of nonfiction films. There are so many motivations behind why politicians do what they do, and there often even exist multiple reasons behind any one act or decision. The life and resume of one Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist with extensive connections in Washington, is certainly an interesting standpoint from which to launch an investigation into the workings of politics and the potential misdeeds of a disturbingly large number of congressmen and senators.

While the title is certainly incendiary and catching, it seems a bit like picking just one arbitrary name out of a hat. Abramoff’s many wheelings and dealings are not limited to the isolated incident of the purchase of a casino cruise ship. As a referent to the infinite number of favors and financial transactions supervised, coordinated, and received by Abramoff, however, the United States of Money seems an extremely accurate term, with Abramoff serving as the card shark.

The film certainly digs deep into Abramoff’s history and surveys the whole chronology, bringing many players in, out, and back in along the way. There are an extraordinary number of chapter markers present to break up the film, some two minutes apart, and some twenty. It takes a long, detailed route to figure out just how Abramoff landed himself in jail, and the narrative seems to lose some of the threads along the way, eventually picking them up but not explaining their absence during the time in between. A thorough Internet investigation to mete out and clarify just who is who seems necessary at film’s end, which would seem to suggest that the film doesn’t quite do its job of presenting a clear portrait of the history. It’s still a fascinating discourse, and incredibly eye-opening for all the information it presents.

For a film about politics, “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” does an impressive job of checking its biases at the door. It doesn’t presuppose or slant facts about Republicans versus Democrats or the other way around, and doesn’t excuse anyone’s bad behavior. Director Alex Gibney, who won an Oscar for the brutal and disturbing “Taxi to the Dark Side,” has crafted another startling expose with a starkly lighter tone. The narration sounds a bit like a less obnoxious version of Michael Moore, hitting just as hard but in a less brash manner. Inspiring additional research shouldn’t be seen as a negative attribute, and this film kicks it off by providing an extensive amount of revealing information.

B+