There is a quote that states “history is written by the winners”, attributed in this form to George Orwell. This saying seems to be true and in no greater respect than in the films that find their way to the screen and that always have. When Hollywood leaned right, patriotic films made the day. And now that it’s more left, films condemning nearly everything are the rage. So it’s not too surprising to find that the film CASINO JACK spends most of its time attempting to brand Republicans as the devil rather than focus on the main character of the title.
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) is the typical lobbyist as we’ve been told time and time again. The job of the lobbyist is to take information provided to them by their client and attempt to influence those in power, here Senators and Congressmen, to vote in favor of things their clients want. And when it comes to making mountains move, Abramoff is a lobbyist you want on your side.
As the film begins, Abramoff is attempting to gather higher profile clients for the firm he works for. First connecting with an manufacturer in the foreign Northern Mariana that uses questionable labor tactics and then bringing in a tribe of Indians who are looking to protect their gambling business. Both of these set Abramoff up in the big leagues. But then a senior member of the firm wants him to help find a buyer for a possibly corrupt gambling cruise ship line and things begin to go south.
Rather than find someone else, Jack and his partner in crime Mike Scanlon (Barry Pepper) decide to find a front man and take over the business themselves. Their choice is not the best one but it is someone Jack thinks he knows and thinks he can control: Adam Kidan (Jon Lovitz). Kidan was once the owner of a successful mattress company but has fallen on hard times himself. Now he seems the perfect fit for Abramoff.
Things start out fine but slowly go from bad to worse. The clothing manufacturer is taken to task for labor law violations, the deal for the cruise line is up in the air thanks to some financial shenanigans Abramoff and crew attempt and the Indian tribes begin to notice something just isn’t quite right in their accounting departments. Through is all Jack continues to wheel and deal with Republican members in Washington as he tries to bring it all in check.
This sounds like a great story and in actuality it is. Or at least it could have been. There is a section of the film where the Abramoff begins to question just where it was he went wrong, just where it was that he lost sight of doing the right thing in helping others and instead just wanted to make money. No, making money is not a bad thing but doing so using illegal means and trying to hide it is.
The problem here is that the section just mentioned last perhaps 5 minutes tops. The rest of the film is busy trying to paint a portrait of Republicans as the most corrupt group of politicians to walk the face of the Earth. This is not to say they can’t be but the fact of the matter is that corruption doesn’t have an R or a D behind its name. Both sides have had their fair share of corrupt individuals. To make an attempt to claim only one just cheapens the true story here. And to think that there wasn’t an unrepentant bone in Abramoff’s body seems disingenuous at best. Perhaps he doesn’t have any regrets but had that been the story or even going back and forth attempting to show he had none would have made a better film. Instead we have the stereotypical politicians that in Hollywood are ALL guilty of being corrupt…but only if they’re Republicans.
Kevin Spacey is always great to see and here he turns in another fine performance. The only thing annoying (and perhaps this was true) was in his portrayal of Abramoff as always doing impersonations. Sure Spacey does a great job of that, but it wears thin fast. Still, Spacey can make a believable character out of little and does so here. We don’t get to see much depth to Abramoff, but when those moment shine through, Spacey does a great job.
Abramoff’s fall from grace, a top paid lobbyist to jail inmate, is an interesting story. Even the bits and pieces offered here make for a tale that makes you want to look deeper into the real events. But as told here it feels slow, using frantic movements and speeches that at the same time make you check your watch to see how much longer the film runs. Perhaps one day Hollywood will learn that a great picture would take news events and present both sides of the story, perspective that tells you what went on from every angle. Until that day arrives my guess is they’ll make more movies like this, ones that people on one side or another will hail while those on the other side find fault in.
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