John's Movie Musings

A few years ago, a story came out about a group of MIT students who raked in millions by beating the odds at Blackjack. They didn't cheat at all. Instead, they used a fascinating system to maximize the odds in their favor. 21 is Hollywood's take on that story - an obvious cause for concern.

If you don't know how the system works, the movie does a pretty good job of explaining it. Since I did, some scenes got a little tedious, but if you know nothing about it, they shouldn't be a problem. If anything, you'll come away thinking you and your Texas Hold 'Em buddies can pull this off in Vegas. Hollywood has a habit of leaving out important realities. Please keep that in mind. Otherwise, tell Vito I tried to warn you.

Unfortunately, 21 doesn't fill the cast with actual MIT students, so you get sexy, waify twenty-somethings who hold graphing calculators upside down and wonder where the Bejeweled button is. The main guy is the same dude from Across the Universe and I apologize for yet another rant about that crapfest, but 21 ends with a complete bastardization of a Rolling Stones tune. It's like the guy hates love and only stars in movies that feast on the soul of classic rock. You wanna talk about typecasting. Doogie Howser is in paradise compared with this guy.

Enough about that. Even though the movie drips all things bad about Hollywood, the film's worth seeing. Yes, the ending blows. Yes, things are too predictable. So put on your mental filters beforehand and pull out the true story. You'll enjoy it.

Grade: B-