M.I.T. students learn that it is easier to make money and make friends in Vegas, rather than bothering about degrees

Rating: 4/10 (22 March 2008)

What a snooze.... the technical aspects were quite good but if one is were to be honest, this is nothing but another big Hollywood film geared up to polish a turd. As for plot, character, etc.: who cares? Spacey almost has enough gusto to distract us from the fact that his character is utterly improbable and ridiculous -- almost. "Nice guy" Ben is corrupted so fast and then uncorrupted just as fast that it's amazing we don't have whiplash. All the other "characters" are empty. The main girl was (sexy) and Boswroth did what she could -- but she was a plot element, not a character. The nerdy friends made no sense: did the filmmakers spend any time at M.I.T.? And the dialog! Except for the initial classroom exchange between the professor and the student (a game show analogy), which was somewhat credible banter, most everything else was "dialog of the obvious: " I did bad, I did the wrong thing, sorry...." But the most offensive thing is that it all comes down to being an advertisement for the casinos "You Can't Always Get What You Want" may play on the soundtrack, but the message is that you ~can~ always get what you want: the girl, the scholarship...: just go to Vegas ; but if that's the case, why waste money on going to see the film: watch any free TV show about Vegas and/or playing poker, or wait for the DVD if nothing else is exciting for that week.