Two for the Money (2005) User Reviews (166)

Worth betting on, for the most part.

[TOMASBBloodhound · 7/10 · 2 April 2006]

Two for the Money is a decent, diverting picture. The material at times seems a little beneath these fine actors, but the film ends up hitting enough of the right notes to make it worth seeing.

Matthew McConaughey would seem a little out of his league on the same screen with Al Pacino and Rene Russo. By the end of the film, you will most likely feel that he's more than held his own, however. McConaughey plays a former college football star who sees his chances of a professional career destroyed by a serious injury. He quickly finds himself picking college football games for a low-rent betting line. With all of his past experience as a player, he does quite well with it. Well enough to attract the attention of Al Pacino, who runs a more up-scale operation in New York. By the end of the first half hour, McConaughey is picking all kinds of football winners, and making Pacino a ton of money. As you would expect, this success does not last very long as various egos spiral out of control and the betting gods turn on our heroes as they eventually do to all of us. The film is more of a character study about the minds of gamblers and lost identity than it is about the workings of an actual betting organization. Overall, it works on a couple different levels.

Pacino is fine, but not as out of control as you might hope. His character has a bad heart, so any typical Pacino tantrums are not really in order for him. He brings as much dignity as one could to the role of an addicted gambler, though. Rene Russo is terrific as his long-suffering wife and a former junkie. Pacino at some points seems to be trying to lose her to McConaughey. He being one of those terribly afflicted gamblers who only feels alive when he's just lost everything he wagered. The supporting cast is pretty good, too. Jeremy Piven is always appreciated, and so is the appearance by Armand Assante.

The best scene in the film takes place at a betting support group meeting that Pacino and his new protégé walk in on. Pacino, being a hopeless gambler himself shows empathy toward these degenerates, then has the nerve to pass out his business card to them!!! The logic I guess being that if you people have to lose, you might as well do it through a fellow degenerate gambler.

The biggest flaw I noticed was too many shots of McConaughey without his shirt on. Yes, the guy has great abs, but we don't need to see so much of them!! Overall this is a good film with some interesting things to say about people who bet. Notice how in the end, the "experts" are really just like the guys they take calls from. During the big games, we're all just sitting there with a beer in our hand, hanging by every first down or dropped ball.

7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Al Pacino is always worth betting on.

[christian123 · 6/10 · 2 April 2006]

Mathew McConaughey is Brandon Lane, a former football star recruited by Walter Abraham (Al Pacino), the head of a sports consulting firm to help them set the line for their sports betting business. Lane's ability to predict the outcome of games quickly turns him into a golden boy, but it soon becomes apparent that he's bitten off more than he can chew when his abilities start to falter.

Two for the Money is a forgettable, generic thriller that doesn't really offer anything new. The film does have some entertaining moments and the first half of the movie is actually pretty exciting to watch. But, the second half is really slow and very tedious. It just drags on and on and for no reason either. It could have been a nice 90 minute movie but the story is stretched out into a two hour film. Luckily, Al Pacino is in the movie and he keeps the film exciting. He gives a good, over the top performance and he pretty much raises the film up to mediocrity. Personally, sports betting isn't that interesting to me but Al Pacino makes it interesting. He can turn a bad script into an okay movie which is what he does with the film. Let's be honest, the script is not very good and the direction is weak. It's so obvious where things are going which is not surprising because this is the same guy that made Taking Lives.

Al Pacino is playing mentor to Matthew McConaughey and their chemistry together isn't very strong. McConaughey is a pretty weak actor and he can't keep up with Pacino. The lead role should have gone to someone else. Rene Russo is okay as Pacino's wife. She gives a decent performance but she was a little too bland to truly stand out. Another thing about the film that people may not like is that every character is unlikable. It's hard to care for these characters because they are either pretty mean or bland. It didn't really bother me because I watched the film to be entertained and I did get some entertainment value from the movie. In the end, if you like Al Pacino then you should give the film a shot, if you don't then just skip it. Rating 6/10

Al Pacino IS this film

[matthew-910 · 7/10 · 25 March 2006]

Al Pacino carries this film all by himself.

I can't think of a way that this could have been made without Pacino. Sure, Matthew McConaughey and Rene Russo gave convincing performances, but Pacino makes you feel sorry for the miserable, empty shell of a man he is.

The plot was amazingly intricate and well carried, but (once again) without Pacino it would not have been delivered nearly as well. I think that they should have found a way to include a small explanation as to how sports betting works, so the fans who came in just to see Pacino would be able to understand how it works. Also, at times the movie just dragged on and on and on...

I still think that Al Pacino is that movie. Pacino really extends himself the way he always does to keep the movie alive and moving. His character was one of the most miserable men I have ever seen, and while i hated him, I still identified a small part of myself with him, and that is the sign of a truly great actor.

7/10

The odds

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 28 October 2005]

There is a scene at the beginning of the film that seems to set the tone of "Two for the Money". We watch as Walter Abrams is talking on the phone with someone who will not be able to provide an elephant for his daughter's birthday party. Walter barks to his assistant, "Get me Ringling". When the call finally comes through, he demands to know whether he is talking to Barnum or Bailey, which is a funny line. Wasn't P.T. Barnum himself the man famous for that quotation about a sucker being born every minute?

Walter Abrams is a man who is in the sports betting business. He and his associates stand to make millions out of the jerks they pursue to do their betting with his firm. Having found a new rising star, Brandon Lang, a man that knows a lot about the intricacies of point spreads and picking winners. Walter wants to transforms him into a man who can bring more money into his outfit.

In order to do that, Walter must groom him to "look" the part. As such, Brandon becomes John Anthony, the man who can produce fabulous results every week end during the football series. Brandon gets to meet the insiders, but little does he know who he is dealing with, or much less, what is expected of him. After all, he is just as good as the winners he can produce.

The film, directed by D. J. Caruso, a man who has worked extensively in television, has a glossy look. The screen play by Dan Gilroy could have used some tighter editing, because at two hours it feels a bit long.

Al Pacino, as Walter, has some good moments; we have seen him in better roles, and this one is a composite of other things he has done before. Mr. Pacino compensates when the screen play is not going anywhere by applying an intensity that doesn't go well with the others playing opposite him. Matthew McConaughey is a light weight actor who, aside from his good looks, doesn't bring anything to this story. Rene Russo is obviously a tall woman who towers over Mr. Pacino in most of their scenes together. Their relationship doesn't come across as being a real thing. Jeremy Piven and Armand Assante make good contributions in supporting the principals.

While "Two for the Money" is by no means a horrible film, it just doesn't have anything new to say.

His Best Pick Was With the Heart

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 23 November 2006]

In Vegas, after breaking the knee in a game, the former promising football player Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) has to work in a phone service foreseeing the results of the games due to the lack of professional options. After many successful predictions, he is invited by Walter Abrams (Al Pacino) to move to Manhattan and work with him in his gambling advising business. Brandon changes his name and personality, becomes famous advising clients and close to Walter's family, and a good friend of his wife, the owner of a hairdresser saloon Toni Morrow (Rene Russo). When the predictions of Brandon fail, he feels that it is time to return home.

"Two for the Money" is a good entertainment, mainly because it is based on a true story, inclusive in the DVD there is an interview of the screenplay writer with the real Brandon. The story partially discloses an illegal business that deals with billions of dollars, and keeps the interest until the end, without being exceptional or unforgettable. Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey and Rene Russo make this film worth. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Tudo Por Dinheiro" ("All for Money")

too long too much with the Pacino intensity

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 24 November 2013]

Six years after a career-ending injury, former college football player Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) is doing little more than a phone service for gamblers. After some amazing success, he is lured to NY to join Walter Abrams (Al Pacino) in his business of gambling predictions. It's a fast talking adrenaline junkie's business and Walter's wife Toni (Rene Russo) tries to keep ever present dangers in check.

The story isn't that exciting. The characters are questionable. The big takeaway is the acting. Matthew McConaughey is a master of this brash young guy. He works well with the master Al Pacino. Al has more intensity than the rest of the cast. And Rene Russo has that superior regal airs about her. The movie starts well, but it does slow down around the middle. It is just too long, and the second half gets quite tiresome. Maybe the Pacino intensity wore me out. At the end, I really didn't care about anybody in the movie.

Austin Movie Show review

[leilapostgrad · 6/10 · 12 October 2005]

Matthew McConaughey is Brandon Lang, a former college football star who devastated his knee and was never able to play professionally. Six years later he's recording "sports predictions" for a 1-900 number in Las Vegas and living with his mom and younger brother, still dreaming of playing professional football one day. He never hears from the Cowboys, but he does get a call from Walter Abrams (the Godfather himself, Al Pacino), an entrepreneur who runs his own sports betting business, inviting him to move to New York and work for him.

Though Brandon Lang is the hero of the story, Walter Abrams is the beating heart of Two For The Money. He's a recovered gambling addict who runs his own empire of "sports betting advisers." No other film has ever explored the psyche of the gambling addict so precisely and intimately. Abrams describes what it feels like to win, but even more fascinatingly, he discusses the addict's subconscious desire to loose it all. Gambling addicts don't bury themselves in debt because they're sure they can win. They do it because they need to loose everything to feel alive.

Two For The Money is better than I expected. The characters are rich and complex and the story is never dull. Hell, this movie is worth seeing for the topless McConaughey shots alone.

A mediocre film, far from reality

[PersianPlaya408 · 7/10 · 21 January 2006]

This film is not as bad as many say, its a decent film about sports betting. I give the director credit for keeping it interesting as this film could have potentially been a bore. However there were some problems with the script, mainly the last act which was not logical. The acting and smart direction from Caruso save this project. Although it isn't a terribly convincing film, Pacinos performance allows is to not be a total disappointment. McConaughey was good as well, casted well in his role. Jeremy Piven was great in his supporting role, but Armand Assante was bad, boy does he not know how to perform lines and be convincing while doing it. Most of my problems with this film was Dan Gilroys screenplay which although at times smart, and entertaining, all in all not concise and consistent. 7/10

A sampling of the ugliness of the sports gambling life ensues...

[TheMovieMark · 7/10 · 6 October 2005]

Networks can't talk about it. The government can't tax it. Yet sports betting is a $200 billion a year business. A business that strives to exploit every vulnerability, manipulate every gullibility, and convince the client that it can provide them certainty in an uncertain world.

Two for the Money is the story of one man's journey into the sports gambling world. Matthew McConaughey delivers one of his more impressive performances as he transforms from Brandon Lang, the smooth-talking golden boy, into John Anthony - "The Million Dollar Man with the Billion Dollar Plan." A transformation that comes complete with a new suit, a new car, a new attitude, and slicked back hair - a sure-fire movie sign that corruption or a loss of innocence is imminent.

Portraying a character that must deal with this corruption of innocence, McConaughey demonstrates that he can act with more than just his dimples and down-home Southern charm. Lang is a machine. He knows the teams, the leagues, the players, the game. All he does is work out and pick winners, two facts made abundantly clear by McConaughey's propensity to walk around shirtless just as often as he makes football picks. I may have rolled my eyes once or twice, but I heard nary a complaint from the ladies in the audience. Except for that one that looked a little like my Uncle Larry.

Lang's corruption rests solely on the fragile shoulders of Walter Abrams, a sleazy character played so effortlessly by Al Pacino that you can't help but feel slightly disturbed by the ease with which he seems capable of tainting ambitious young men. Screaming less than usual, Pacino's portrayal is nothing short of an indictment of those sports advisors who feed on the weak. Sports gambling may be illegal in 46 states, but Abrams is well aware that "sports advising" (the politically correct preference, no doubt) is not. Despite the false promise of certainty, sports advising is presented as more used car salesmanship than mathematical study. Figure out your client's needs, and get his money. That's the name of the game. As for actually picking a winner? It's 50-50. A flip of the coin.

Sure, Lang is able to compile a pretty impressive hot streak, but what happens when it comes to a crashing halt? The peaks are indeed very high when the fun and money are flowing, but is it worth the lesson learned when your family is threatened and you're hit with the realization of what losing $380,000 can do to a family?

Ultimately, the movie would have proved more effective if there had been a greater emphasis on the devastation of the lows of losing. Consequences are touched but never fully realized. I would have also liked less predictability in a movie about a very unpredictable lifestyle, but Two for the Money still succeeds in giving the audience a glimpse of what gets in the minds of those willing to gamble. Is it about the game? Is it about the money? Or, as Abrams believes, is it about the risk some people are willing to take to feel what they perceive as being alive?

The dialogue and character interaction happen at a quick enough pace to grab and seal your attention, and while the last act is somewhat weighed down by the two-hour runtime and the semi-sappy melodrama of plans gone awry, Money still manages to convince the audience to care about whether or not Brandon can get back to where he began - the purity of the game.

You want certainty in an uncertain world? Then put your money on obligatory shirtless Matthew McConaughey scenes and Pacino's incisors getting a nice scene-chewing workout. It's a safer bet than trusting your money with the decision-making of those who care more about the profit than they do about you.

THE GIST

Two for the Money will prove to be most enjoyable to those with some familiarity or interest with sports and the gambling side of the business. But McConaughey and Pacino deliver enough laughs and energy to make this more accessible to those with little knowledge of the subject matter. If you have your doubts about this one then don't worry about spending the big bucks to see it on the big screen - it'll make for a good rental.

Losing bet for viewers

[jake87 · 2/10 · 9 May 2007]

* Spoiler alert *

As astounding waste of time, talent and yes, money, "Two for the Money" varies from predictable to preposterous to unpleasant without pausing for entertainment.

A top-flight cast, plus Matthew McConaughey, tries to put a palatable spin on the saga of a sports betting firm preying on gullible customers who should instead be in Gamblers Anonymous.

Scriptwriter Dan Gilroy has a strong facility for finding old clichés in new settings, crafting a tale of boy-meets-boy, boy-makes-boy-money, boy-loses-boy-money, oh-who-cares.

McConaughey is a washed-up football player trying to rehabilitate an injury and making ends meet through a betting tips show. There's a surface plausibility that he has some insights into college football as a former player, which gets him customers.

In swoops Al Pacino as the owner of a high-flying betting service. He brings Matthew to New York to pick pro games, setting him up with a posh apartment and work-out room to offer beefcake shots of McConaughey for his fans of various lifestyles.

Gedde Watanabe stands in for all the hapless betters relying on the service. When McConaughey hits big with his initial picks, Watanabe gets gulled into anteing up more. Unfortunately, the power goes to Matt's pretty head. Immediately. He has one good week, and then is off to play golf instead of researching games.

Pacino is fine with this. Infatuated with his new boy toy, he fires long-time associate Jeremy Piven. Rene Russo plays Al's very tolerant wife _ you see, she knows that he's a gambling addict himself. There's no difference between Al and his customers, except that he's taking their money to enable his own bets. Always watchable, Piven gets out of the movie with his dignity intact, and Russo is her usual reliable self.

But Pacino is in full "hoo-ha" mode as he tries to inject some life into his empty character. At that, Gilroy gives him more to work with then the rest of the cast. As one of Al's employees, super-skinny Carly Pope stands around in the background of multiple scenes while getting perhaps 10 words of dialogue. Her big scene is sliding into McConaughey's lap to kiss him for his good work. One can't help thinking of Susan St. James snuggling up with Rock Hudson in "McMillan and Wife."

Gilroy's script is so inept that he can't even realistically portray the ebb-and-flow of games. After things go wrong and McConaughey tries to get back on track, there's a scene where the football team he's picked goes up over the spread with two minutes to play. It's just the sort of situation in a real game where the other team would push for a quick score. But in Gilroy's world, Matt's colleagues immediately start celebrating their success, and then are stunned when the other team scores. (And of course, the teams playing are always "New York," never Houston or Tampa Bay.)

By the end, after ruining Watanabe, getting threatened by mobster types, and (attention guys!) showing off more of his physique, McConaughey decides to return to oblivion, but not without leaving Al his very special Super Bowl pick. Will Pacino use it and keep his shell game afloat? Never has a big game seemed so small.

For the Actors

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

TWO FOR THE MONEY takes on the topic of Sports Gambling and makes a serious attempt to turn it into a movie. The story is apparently based on a true one (as per the opening screen statement) but it is from the pen of Dan Gilroy that the well-drawn characters are realized. DJ Caruso (Smallville, The Salton Sea, The Shield) knows his way around matters such as these and his pacing is fine, allowing for the isolated 'arias' in the film to work well. The problem, for this viewer, is the topic: how interesting can bilking chronic gamblers over football game wagers possibly be? The story is related by Brandon Long (Matthew McConaughey) who begins life as a sports hero and just at the moment when he is ready to break in to the Pro Football domain, he fractures his leg in a winning touchdown. Six years later, and still dreaming of making it as a player of football, finds him in the numbers game with a talent for picking winning teams and calling 900 numbers to urge gullible people t place bets according to his predictions. Enter Alter Abrams (Al Pacino), a recovering Gambler who is making it big in the sports gambling arena. He coerces Brandon to join him in New York, wines him, dines him with the aid of his smart and beautiful wife Toni (Rene Russo), and in no time Brandon Long takes on the persona of John Anthony and makes it big as a TV personality who successfully bilks willing gambling people out of their money. Long as Anthony takes on a life of his own and it is the conflagration between the creator Abrams and the protégé Anthony that fleshes out the film.

Interesting to a point, the story loses steam in the last half and we soon lose interest in the outcome or the characters. And not that that is the fault of the actors! Al Pacino is very effective as the reformed gambler still fighting demons and Rene Russo is as beautiful as ever, acting her role with complete conviction and holding what is left of the story, once started, together. Matthew McConaughey spends much of the movie without his shirt on which is a major contribution to the visuals of the film! Buff and beautiful he manages to keep the heart of Brandon Long beating inside the persona of John Anthony.

Not a great movie by any means, but some truly fine acting from the trio of stars. The supporting cast also gives solid roles despite the skimpy script. If gambling of any sort, and sports gambling in particular, is of interest to you, then this is a movie to recommend. Otherwise see it for the actors, not the story. Grady Harp

Pacino and McConaughey - an odd pair

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 12 March 2013]

Al Pacino stars with Matthew McConaughey and Rene Russo in "Two for the Money," a 2005 film directed by D.J. Caruso.

Pacino plays Walter Abrams, a man with a serious heart condition, a wife, and a child. As his wife says, "he's held together by meetings. If it has an "anonymous" after its name, he goes to it." A former compulsive gambler, he now runs a sports betting business. He becomes interested in a former football player, retired due to a knee injury, named Brandon Lang (McConaughey). Lang gives out accurate predictions and point spreads on a 900 line, and Abrams invites Lang to work for him.

Lang moves to New York, where Abrams changes his name to John Anthony, dresses him professionally, and ultimately puts him on television. Anthony is very successful - the business gets a percentage of every win, and Anthony does very well by his clients.

Unfortunately, as Abrams himself says, Anthony is not a psychic - which Anthony seems to forget, becoming too interested in golf games with his clients instead of research, and the inevitable happens. "John Anthony" then must come to terms with the complex man he's working for and how and if he's going to get back in the game.

This is a good-looking film with Pacino sucking out all the air in the room, overpowering both McConaughey and Russo with his take no prisoners acting. McConaughey is one hot number, and there was a time, when he first started acting, that he wanted to be another Paul Newman. Then he was pulled into chick flicks. The result is a successful career but not necessarily a successful acting career. Therefore he's not really a good match for Pacino.

Jeremy Piven plays another analyst who works for Abrams, and he does an effective job, as does Armand Assante, a bettor who doesn't like to lose - he's really excellent in a short role.

But Pacino rules - you can sense this man's volatility and you have no idea what he's going to pull next. This is definitely a film for Pacino fans. It's not terribly original, but there are some good scenes and some witty dialogue.

Sports by the book

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 27 April 2014]

Al Pacino continues his run of starring alongside a younger rising star. In Two for the Money he plays Walter Abrams, domineering, highly strung sports book adviser and former gambling addict with a dodgy heart.

Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon Lang, a former American Footballer whose out of the game permanently due to a knee injury but has an instinctive ability to call the game and game-plays.

Abrams takes Lang under his wing as his protégé, grooming him, shaping him, changing his clothes, style and even his name as Lang picks winners and attracts big time gamblers who bet more on more each week.

The film itself is standard text of a sports drama film with first you see the coaching of the young star, then his swift rise to the top and then the catalyst that leads to a decline before the film heads for a finish.

In this case Abrams refuses to share the wealth with Lang who is now attracting high rollers and Lang hits self destruct and starts to pick losers affecting the company and his clients who are losing big time. Of course from very early on from Pacino's full on performance as larger than life Abrams, this is a person you can never keep up with and he is in fact warned early on by Abrams's wife played by Rene Russo.

Of course the biggest problem from the outset is that we see Pacino play these characters before and you see a trail already as where this film is going. Also we have to swallow just because a person has played the game, understands the game he can call the game. In that case, surely other footballers could do the same? Sports is based on many factors such as mistakes, slips, bad calls and incidents rather than pure skill from the other side, it what makes the game exciting and difficult to predict.

So what starts as mildly interesting is as predictable as a tame roller coaster ride. Nothing too exciting but both leads have charm enough to keep you watching.

Two for the swearing!

[Sherazade · 6/10 · 3 July 2006]

As a Newyorker, I refuse to believe that there are people in this city who swear so much that you absolutely can hardly understand a word of what they are saying. That was the case with this film in which Al Pacino (in another shout-fest villainous role) plays a betting chief who one day rescues a former NFL champion (played by Mattew McConaughey) who was abandoned by his father, from the eternal damnation known as working in a cubicle, by flying him out to Newyork and offering him a job as sports betting main protégé. It all seems too good to be true for Brandon Lang (McConaughey) who is suspicious of everything going on around him but allows himself to be recruited anyway. He starts well and climbs up the ladder with such lightening speed that in infuriates a former protégé played by Jeremy Piven whom Brandon eventually replaces. Everything about Al Pacino's sinister Walter Abrams is a test, he tests to the point of no return and eventually does himself in when Brandon (whom Walter makes over to be this alter ego character of John something...) walks away at the top of his game. Jamie King (ever the typecast slut) makes a cameo as a, yeah, you guessed it, slut. Rene Russo, who seems to get only better and more beautiful with age co-stars as Mrs. Abrams, a woman whom Brandon can hardly resist much to the dismay of her husband. And Armand Asante makes a special appearance as a weirdo mob type dude who relieves himself on McConaughey's character! Poor Matthew, here's hoping your payday was very shiny and green! As I said before, the swearing was a little bit much for me, and I'm a Newyorker, so there you go. The film was based on true life events that occurred in the life of the real Brandon Lang, a body building former pro-gambler whom you can see in the special features section of the DVD.

Sunday afternoon easy watching

[thekarmicnomad · 6/10 · 1 October 2014]

I am not a massive sports or sports movie fan. But then this film is more about gambling, ambition and greed.

The main character is sucked in to a new and exciting world by Al Pacino's character who takes eccentric to new levels.

The film is fairly slow and the plot flows along fairly gently, which is just as well because there really isn't a lot of substance to it.

The characters are engaging and just enough happens to keep you interested.

The majority of the film centres around the affect of success and the motivations that drive the successful on.

This is good for an idle Sunday afternoon. Good performances and production but nothing special going on and no fireworks.

"Jerry Maguire" meets "Wall Street" by way of "Boiler Room"

[george.schmidt · 6/10 · 10 October 2005]

TWO FOR THE MONEY (2005) ** Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Armand Assante, Jeremy Piven, Jaime King. (Dir: DJ Caruso)

"Jerry Maguire" meets "Wall Street" by way of "Boiler Room"

Matthew McConaughey usually plays against his good ol' Texas country boy with aplomb and charisma but in his latest leading-man turn downplays that with deploying his cornpone good naturedess to the stressing point of credibility in this cross of "Jerry Maguire" meeting "Wall Street" by way of "Boiler Room" in this drama centering on sports betting cum morality play.

Cast as a former football hopeful whose dreams were crushed by a nasty on field injury, Brandon Lang settles for cold-calling telemarketing scams that lead to brighter days when his knack for picking wins for professional sports, namely football (both college AND pro) catches the eye of hugely successful Brooklyn based numbers runner Walter Abrams (Pacino chomping at the bit in a juicy, bombastic turn) who woos the young turk to turn to the dark side by joining his team of bettors which leads Lang to become a hot shot with the unlikely sobriquet of "John Anthony", an alias Abrams creates for his golden goose.

Abrams is an alleged Gambling Anonymous survivor who claims he hasn't made a professional bet in 18 years (yet is running an on the cusp of illegal gambling business) promise to his skeptical gorgeous wife Toni Morrow (the always welcome beauty Russo) who is wise to her loving husband and father to their little girl yet is wary about the corruption of his latest conquest in the form of the highly naïve Lang who claims he doesn't even bet on his picks (yet has no qualms in basking in the quick ascending glory of his new pricey digs and fast lifestyle).

The film's main fallacy is that it is very predictable and that Lang cannot be that believable in being so gullible to the surrounding he's found himself trapped in and Abrams' true colors come out about the half-way mark where most films would have the protagonist questioning his morality when Lang instead continues to literally gamble his good senses for a huge fall to come: it's all in the matter of timing. The jerry-rigged script by scribe Dan Gilroy (whose last known credit was the god awful "Chasers" in 1994) allegedly based on a true story is marred by Caruso's ham fisted direction (he's responsible for the ludicrous Angelina Jolie serial killer junk flick "Taking Lives" last year) that has no grace or subtlety despite the fine acting by his leads. McConaughey effortlessly allows his IQ to take a beating for his not-too-swift character that finally grows a brain in the ridiculously paced final act (the trite edit of a on-the-line football game's last play with a face off between Pacino and Russo's marriage-on-the-brink confrontation is head-shakingly bad). Pacino meanwhile shifts from his garrulous full-of-vigor shark in lamb's clothing to Mamet echoes of his "Glengarry Glen Ross" Rick Roma in a show-stopping soliloquy at a Gamblers Anonymous meeting about the nature of losing is fun in its grandiosity; intensity like his should be bottled. Russo acquits herself nicely as she usually does by making her former addict survivor a resolve of understanding to a fault.

What is unremarkable is just how familiar and easy to figure-down-the-line as to what will eventually happen ultimately is the biggest gambit and cheat for the audience. One only wishes the filmmakers had paid closer attention to the snappy chemistry between its leads that could've made this a "Hustler" type of fable.

Watchable

[bob-rutzel · 6/10 · 27 January 2006]

Walter Abraham (Pacino) hires Brandon Lane (McConaughey) who has a talent for picking winners in Pro Football.

We get to see a little bit of pro sports gambling in picking teams to win in pro football, and we get to see some of the emotions that go along with it. Walter has the most successful sports advising company in the nation, and becomes a father figure to Brandon and hangs his star on him because Brandon has the gift. Walter, Brandon and Tony (Ruso) all had terrible childhoods and now must stick together to make this work.

I know Pacino is a good actor, but it seems to me that he likes to hear himself talk a little too much. In this movie, he never quits being "up." We needed a break from this from time to time, and it rarely came. He plays the part a little too flip for my money. Oh, yes, we still get his obligatory harrang when he visits a Gamblers Anonymous meeting and harasses the participants. That is his schtick and we must be prepared for it somewhere in the movie. Still, he is a good actor, but I think he needs to tone it down a notch. You see, he not only yelled in Brandon's ears, he yelled in ours too.

There is a lot of language in here and the movie applauds it, encourages it, and displays it at every turn. That is annoying in the beginning, but after you hear it so often it seems to go away and you don't hear it so much, but it's still there, but not as annoying. Does this make sense?

The rest of the cast is fine, and the story does move along pretty good, but does have its slow moments. We get the idea that a lot of people depend on the "pics" from a company like Walter has. Walter's company has a policy of pushing the client to the limit to get him to wager more money with their bookie (Walter's company get a percentage of what is wagered). When things are good, they are very good, but when things go bad people get hurt. Maybe this is the warning of this movie: don't depend too much on other people's advice, learn to depend more on yourself.

You never know , you might relapse.

[shadowman123 · 7/10 · 27 March 2006]

Those were the words spoken by Walter at the gambling meeting which I found to be really funny .I decided to check out to for the money because I thought it would be a welcome change to my normal genre of movies and what I can say is that the film starts of good and you as the person who is watching kind of develop some sort of attachment to Brandon Lang after his hopes of becoming a high flyer are put to the side when he becomes injured and like the rest of us works a nine-to-five . Something that I could feel for him was that he was young,well to do and has plenty of ambition and still dreams of making it big but is stuck in a very dead end place where he feels he won't get anywhere . Que the rather wild , wacky ,and some what flamboyant Walter Abramhs played in style by Al Pacino who then goes onto promise the Brandon the world if he comes works for him. And thusly you see a star in the making as you see Lang's speeding rise to the top from his desk job days to the point where he starts using the alias Jhon Anthony - the million dollar man with a billion dollar plan!! He also gets to drive the Merc-Benz SL 500 which coincidently my boss drives at well and says that one day it will be but I don't really believe that people . So far so good but then during the second half of the film when things turn sour and Lang's world starts crashing down before him the film then gets a little sloppy and thusly loses what direction it wants to go in , from this it tends to drag on a little longer than it should do which I didn't mind as long as it was given time to recover but instead it started developing plot holes . Al Pacino performance was great , I found my-self laughing with his witty ability to turn things around . Matt McConghay was also gave solid performance portrait a person who got him-self in a little to deep but was enjoying the part. Rene Russo performance was also pretty solid . All in all Two for the Money was on its way to earning an 8 or 8.5 but because of the sloppy , dis-organised , some what unrealistic second half it started losing marks . However the first half was brilliant the way it showed us a gritty , realistic portrayal of the cut-throat business which is known as sports gambling . Definaltly worth a rental .

TWO FOR THE MONEY - A RATHER WEAK 7.5 OUT OF 10 .

THIS IS THE SHADOWMAN SIGNING OFF WISHING YOU A GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK.

A glimpse into the world of sports handicappers. Pacino vehicle, good cast

[amber3056 · 6/10 · 10 October 2005]

The acting was good, the cast was good, but I don't think that world really exists. I mean, there are touts who sell picks for the season and touts who sell games, but do they care whether their picks win? They have their money. They don't sell their picks; they sell their ability to make picks. With most of them, they lie about their percentage anyway. The real gamblers tell you if you're hitting 60%, your doing as well as anyone can. I don't think any tout would go "12 to 2" like in the movie; they select two or three key games. No one can hit a good percentage if he chooses every game. The Armand Assante character is good in theory, but whales like to control the action--baccarat, roulette, blackjack--even if they lose. Sports betting is too much about winning. And where to you place a bet of a million a side? Who's going to take that action? The top casinos in Las Vegas might take a $55,000 side. I would have liked to have seen a movie about Las Vegas and sports bettors--the guys who bet their own money, go from casino to casino to make sure they have enough down, who can go from a hundred bucks to a hundred grand and back in a week or [e-mail]

loads of male attraction, no love interest and near zero reality

[bgoulding2 · 2/10 · 24 October 2005]

Great if you like the sound of Pacino's voice (I do a bit) and the sight of Matthew's torso. But Resso is as much a fizzle as is the story line... Gambling can be a great high just, more often it is a home wrecker. But this story line captures neither... might just have been about the triads making money in back streets of Hong Kong, it was all foreign to me. The cheesy ending was recognizable enough... a desperate effort to get back to minimum Hollywood standards of what is expected of good guys. There are other problems with the story but there is little point in going through these in light of larger issues.

Overall, fans of Pachino will go see this movie just as surely as fans of the Rolling Stones will buy an album "sight unseen". I just wish he would find better projects to work on... he's not going to live forever and every maestro wishes to have had one last masterpiece which gets left undone. In that sense, this movie is less a waste of viewers time or producers' cash, but of Pacino's talent.

BG

Funny dialogue, had me laughing out loud

[punkin_flats · 8/10 · 20 February 2006]

I went into watching "Two For The Money" cold- had not read anything about. I enjoyed it! Pacino had some hilarious dialogue. I kept on laughing throughout the movie at his witticisms. I read some other postings, yes, Russo was towering over Pacino as his wife. I would take this that Pacino was secure in his life and could handle having a tall woman walk with him. We all know Russo was a fashion model in real life. Many short, powerful men want a woman like that. As to another posting, yes Matt M. was a light-weight, but boy did he give beefcake appeal! I liked his shirtless scenes. Who cares if the boy can act?? Then shock of shocks, one of my 70's favorite actors popped up- -Armand Assante! I was so happy to see him! I wish he had more screen time. Seeing three of the four actors/actresses as big names, I was happy overall with the movie. The running time flew by for me.

An unusually rich and realistic film.

[JohnDeSando · 5 October 2005]

"There are two great pleasures in gambling: that of winning and that of losing." French proverb

That all gamblers are losers we learn among other insights about betting in Two for the Money.

If you want to see Al Pacino go over the top as Walter, the head of powerful football game "pick" empire, who hires former quarterback and 1-900 small-time betting success Brandon (Matthew Matthew McConaughey) to join him in big-time picking for clients who are serious losers, you won't see it. But you will see three accomplished actors, Pacino. McConaughey, and Rene Russo (as Walter's wife) live in their roles the way Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, and Betty Davis, to name only three of the old timers, inhabited their roles and threw them in your face.

If you wonder why rich people risk their fortunes on betting, this is the film to see; if you wonder about Hollywood's ability to depict a real marriage of two people who love each other despite the cataclysmic atmosphere of his profession, then become a believer by seeing an unusually rich and realistic film.

The artistic unity is unusual. The notion of truthfully saying you're sorry is introduced in a tough guy scene, and then re-prised with Walter and his wife. Truth seems endangered in one scene then uncovered to be authentic in another (this pattern happens several times). Family values override money and ambition for the three major players; in Brandon's case, it becomes a matter of figuratively "Who's your father" while in Walter's it's "Who'll be your son?" (Chinese proverb: "At the gambling table, there are no fathers and sons.") The extreme fitness of Brandon counterpoints the weak heart of Walter, whose exercise is only making money. The heart is figurative as well as it becomes the final arbiter of happiness.

The film is good enough to recall other successful works of art: For instance, the camera tracks through the "pick parlor" with its banks of computers recalling "Wall Street" and Michael Douglas's similar role to Pacino's; the shouting, manipulating sales operatives recall the real estate agents in "Glengary Glen Ross." The supercharged sports atmosphere is reminiscent of "Jerry Maguire" as is Cruise's vulnerable hotshot a template for McConaughey's.

McConaughey fulfills his promise as a major star in a role seemingly made for him. Pacino dares you to want him to go over the top but shows you how he can control himself. This is Pacino at his best since Scent of a Woman. You can bet on it.

Lame title but good movie with lots of 12 step program philosophy

[bobbobwhite · 7/10 · 7 October 2005]

Al Pacino is the greatest and most natural talent in the movie biz. Everything he does rings so true, and we can't take our eyes of him when he is doing it. He sure has left DeNiro in the dust and is now America's premier senior actor.

TFTM is a love story, oh yes it is, because all stories are love stories, every single one. The presence of love or the absence of it is at the heart of all stories, and this one is no exception as there are no exceptions. But this one is so special due to Pacino and his magnificent talent in making us believe this fairy tale was real and magical. Renee Russo was very good as his checkered-past wife and chief backsliding preventer(gambling), and Matthew McConaughy was terrific cast as the hunky, can't miss, football score prognosticator who made it big in Pacino's sports line empire and then......well, see the film. Ever see Wall Street? Nuff said. Armand Assante was also good in a small but easy role....the bad guy who hated losing, as opposed to a real addict who loves it as it reinforces his self hate. Al spewed lots of spot-on 12 step program self-help philosophy and personal insights throughout, and as we are all in our own personal 12 step program of some type or another, it kept my attention glued to him as his brilliance alone was worth the ticket price.

Pacino's character had all the good/great lines, as he should have had. Especially great was his stunning address to a 12 step program group about addiction. Believe me, he was right on the money. But, how his really bad heart stood up to all his manic shenanigans, drinking, and smoking, I'll never know. Perhaps he needed them to really feel alive. Hey, it's a movie.

Whether you agree or disagree with gambling, this film is sure to entertain you greatly with its NYC rich slickness and deep look inside the huge sports line "business". Or, see it for your latest Al Pacino fix, and you'll be glad you won that gamble, you addict you.

Pacino needs to work on his script selection

[dfw_txs · 2/10 · 27 October 2005]

I went into this movie determined to like it. I usually enjoy dramas like Wall Street, Glen Gary Glen Ross, Boiler Room, etc...I went into this movie thinking I would be on the edge of my seat. Plus, I am a big Pacino fan.

What a piece of garbage. Quite possibly the worst movie I have seen in five years. This makes Pacino's debacle in Any Given Sunday actually look good. First, half the movie is watching Matthew McConaughey lift weights. OK, we get it. You are in shape Matt. We don't need to see every other scene with you pumping iron, shirtless.

Secondly, how many plot holes are in this movie? Why introduce the phone call from Brandon's long lost Dad and never address it again? What was the point of his Mom hanging up on him - why even have her call to say he is sending her too much money - what was the point of that? The guy from Puerto Rico who lost 30 million? Also, since sports betting is illegal in NY, and its acknowledged its illegal, how can they possibly guarantee everyone's bet at the end?

This was simply a very poorly written script. It had potential, but it was devoid of a coherent plot. I thought Pacino learned his lesson about script selection after Any Given Sunday, but apparently not. My Gosh, this is the same actor that starred in the Godfather!

Don't waste your money.

Gambler's Itch

[refinedsugar · 7/10 · 7 November 2023]

I'm a sucker for big Al Pacino movies even those titles that seem lightweight or popcorn. The fact that 'Two For The Money' also stars Matthew McConaughey and deals with gambling is just the coup de grâce. I once read a person compare it to 'The Devils Advocate' and I admit the viewpoint sticks. We're not dealing with biblical themes and the issues of good vs evil, but gambling has always had a racy edge to it. This is a fun flick.

Brandon Lang (McConaughey) was a college quarterback sensation who saw it all go away after a career ending injury on the field. Later he's working 1-900 numbers and gets asked to sub picking football games to gamblers. His great percentages draws the attention of Walter Abrams (Pacino) who runs one of the biggest sportsbook advice "tout" services in NY with his own cable show. Lang undergoes a transformation at Walter's insistence to be the complete package in 'John Anthony'. A man who's got the ability to pick winners and the confidence to successfully sell them as part of a persona. Of course, this is a tale of (sports) gambling and there comes the valleys with the peaks.

Abrams (Pacino) is a former gambling addict who likes to push people's buttons. Particularly Lang's & his wife Toni's (Rene Russo) as their success soaks. Meanwhile Lang starts becoming complacent with his new identity leading to some lows in due part to the substitute father role Abrams takes on and some highly suspect manipulative behavior. When things start circling the gutter can they turn it around before the whole ship goes down.

There is a particular scene where director DJ Caruso gave Al Pacino free reign on how he wanted to do it without McConaughey knowing and the look on the latter's face is authentic. A real good piece of tension, anger & all around acting that is later mirrored in a scene of one of their clients who's lost it all. Jaime King (Sin City) shows up providing some female sexuality, Armand Assante gives weight & menace as a big time gambler and Jeremy Piven plays a role very much in his wheelhouse as an employee of Walter.

The lone sore spot is the basis for the film (which you can read into). An "inspired by a true story" tale of Brandon Link, a man who says (like Lang in the film) he was a red hot handicapper who picked like fire for a stretch. This movie actually got made because he pitched writer Dan Gilroy the idea while acting as his golf caddy. Let that sink in. Plus of course, job #1 for Hollywood is to deliver an entertaining picture that the public likes & makes money so truth is already secondary.

Audiences and critics didn't appreciate this flick when it originally dropped in 2005, but I've enjoyed it all along. Yes the cast and theme has a lot to do with it. Take the "true story" element with a huge grain of salt but if you want to see two heavyweight actors play off each other this is a recommended "pick".