You Bet...Gamble on "Two for the Money"

Rating: 9/10 (26 January 2006)

***1/2 for viewing gambling as the root to all evil.
Brandon knows how to pick sport winners so he is recruited by big-shot gambler Al Pacino to come to N.Y. and work for him.
Brandon starts off as a Willie Stark, naive, smart and a regular guy. Pacino soon puts him through a metamorphosis of changing his name to John Anthony, and making him a general swinger-cigar smoking, with a drink in his hand kind of guy knowing full well how to use the f word. Pacino soon puts him on his cable station and John Anthony, with his football predictions and sly style, soon becomes a sensation. People will go along with his wagers and gamble heavily themselves.
Naturally, we have the mob involved. When he does well, John is everyone's boy; when the tables start to turn mobster "Armand Assante" shows how little he can regard human dignity and I'm putting that mildly.
The picture though is a positive one. Showing that gambling is nothing more than suckers guessing who will win, it depicts when it's time to get out. This was one time you don't want to get out because of the usual outstanding performance of Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey, the guy who Pacino makes as John Anthony.
A searing look into the world of gambling. All bets are on for this rather good film.