Play Your Cards Right

A group of MIT students take Las Vegas by storm, using their intelligence to beat the system and rake in the cash.. Under the leadership of their math professor, (Kevin Spacey) the group swap study sessions for blackjack practice, devising codes and hand signals in an attempt to outsmart the casinos.

21 stars Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a young Harvard medical school hopeful who quickly abandons his doubts and his morals in order to finance his graduate school future. But like the other students in the group, Ben never knows when to quit while he's ahead, and he soon lets the money sweep him away from his good path and out of the favour of his best friends.

Despite being based on a true story, the con of this film is its unbelievability. Where there was a hint or romance in the book between Ben and his college crush, Jill (Kate Bosworth), it becomes a fully fledged love scene in the film. One moment Jill is refusing Ben's advances and the next minute she's giving him a lap dance. And the obvious “arms behind the back” signals or how they repeatedly enter the same casino are farcicle, but after accepting its one-dimensional characters for what they are, it can be pretty enjoyable.

Kevin Spacey, who understandably overshadows his junior cast members, seems to be playing a shadow of himself. It's the Spacey we all love, with that monotone, straight-face deliver of lines, but not in his full glory.

There is a series of money-making, strip-club hopping, and drink-sipping montages that convince you of the film's PG-13 nature. The plot is nevertheless engaging, and if you let go of a highly critical nature, you can be swept up by the Vegas glamour.

The film quickly begins to feel like a feature-length episode of the OC, but like those troubled, yet privileged
beach kids, you just can't seem to get enough.

Mixed in with a bit of suspense and the hint of thriller, the predictable ending still ends up rounding out the plot, bringing down the house, and delivering an overall entertaining film, however much it missed capturing a good adaptation of a true story.