21 - Any substance behind the bright lights, glitz and glamour?

Rating: 6/10 (19 May 2008)

This review was originally written for South Yorkshire newspapers and featured on BBC Radio Sheffield, Leeds and York.

In a bid to fund his Harvard education Ben (Jim Sturgess) is persuaded by his college Maths lecturer (Kevin Spacey) to join a team of top students and embark upon a card-counting hustle in Las Vegas. Ben soon casts aside his geek origins and friends when he finds that his maths genius brings him easy money and easier women at the casino Blackjack Tables. 21 is based on a true story, documenting the rise and fall of a handsome college nerd, as he deals with moral dilemmas, his sexual awakening and the lure of being a high roller.
It's great to see that director Robert Luketic has branched out beyond the lurid pink fluffiness of Legally Blonde and got his teeth into something a little more blokey  thankfully he proves himself competent at providing sprightly amusement for both sexes. This is just as much enjoyable schmaltz as anything else Luketic has made; only this time it's lit in neon - Vegas style.
The nerd who gets a taste of the cool life has served many a film maker well in the past so it comes as no surprise that Ben's first few Vegas visits provide the film's flightiest scenes. Following this initial buzz, the card playing feels like a missed opportunity. The sheer drama of Blackjack could have been used to great effect, but here screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb have failed to capture any of the game's inherent excitement. As a result, 21's numerous casino scenes are all bright lights and no depth. It's what happens when six mathematical whizzes apply a formula to eliminate surprise and doubt.
Ben's fellow card counting con-artists are two-dimensional caricatures with simple personality traits that provide an immediate sense of character  a necessity given their limited screen time. At least their varied wardrobe and Beadle-esquire penchant for daft disguises at the tables ensure that they're fun to be around. Stick-on sideburns, cowboy hats and Hooker wigs are probably not the most proficient means of going unnoticed, even in Vegas, and contrary to the film's 'true story' mantle it does require that you suspend belief. It's not just the outlandish costumes and the contradictory role of Ben's hunky geek that pushes the boundaries of reality either; the film's love interest Jill (Kate Bosworth), happens to be an intellectual who would look more at home on the catwalk or the school's cheerleading squad than hitting the books.
It's testament to the quality of the two young leads that the more far-fetched elements of 21 don't become a grating distraction. Bosworth is sweet, sassy, cool and collected yet sufficiently feisty as the object of Ben's affections. But it's Sturgess who makes the movie. The young Brit, who recently starred in 'That Other Boleyn Girl' (reviewed on these very pages several weeks ago) is like a young John Cusack, having a charismatic, natural appeal that gives the movie a solid heart. Spacey is clearly enjoying himself immensely playing Professor Mickey Rosa, maintaining an undercurrent of menace throughout his role as the team's leader - a father figure that exploits his adopted 'children'. Unfortunately Laurence Fishburne is surprisingly limp as the villain of the piece, playing a security supervisor from the old school, on the brink of being usurped by new technology. He's more of a wet lettuce than a hardened pit boss employed to doll out punishment to cheats and hustlers.
The only truly bad hand that the film plays is during the finale; no amount of bluffing can disguise the obvious con and it plays out unconvincingly. This doesn't tarnish the film too much  it deals out plenty of fun for the most part, and it's all wrapped up quickly and with plenty of gusto. As shallow entertainment 21 is a safe bet, but like Vegas, you shouldn't expect to find much in the way of substance behind all the glitz and glamour.