Casino Jack (2010) User Reviews (58)

Kevin Spacey delivers a superb performance!

[namashi_1 · 6/10 · 11 April 2011]

Kevin Spacey is truly an actor to adore. The Two-Time Academy-Award Winner has proved his talent time and again. In 'Casino Jack', he gets even better and delivers a superb performance.

'Casino Jack' is based on Jack Abramoff. Abramoff, is one of the most notorious lobbyist's ever. 'Casino Jack', however focuses, on the time when Abramoff & his protégé went down hard...as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and a brutal murder.

Director George Hickenlooper does a good job, while Norman Snider's writing is flawed. The writing in the first hour is spot-on, but in the second hour, it falters. Even the culmination for that matter, doesn't leave the desired impact. Acting wise, as told, Spacey owns the film. He plays Abramoff superbly. He truly is an Icon! Barry Pepper is Excellent.

On the whole, 'Casino Jack' can be viewed once, for it's lead star's performance. Must for Spacey Fans!

Frequently Enjoyable, Though Heavily Flawed

[Simon_Says_Movies · 6/10 · 12 January 2011]

2010 seems to be the year that Hollywood universally decided to take its look at one of the great government scandals this past decade, producing both the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, and this accompanying (albeit more fictionalized) account of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. After seemingly searching for a juicy role since his duel Oscar winning performances in the mid to late '90s with The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, Kevin Spacey is back in fine form and dominates the screen in this frequently enjoyable, though heavily flawed, rise and fall fable.

Oddly, what makes this movie great also represents its largest shortcomings. The acting is as varied as Abramoff's excuses pertaining to the generous "donations" he receives in the film itself. Barry Pepper as Jack's right-hand man Michael steals scenes at a whim when given the chance and could have easily elevated the film further if given more screen time. Spacey is superb bringing a delicious blend of pompous charm and sleazy anger to the role, and even manages to deliver both a credible Sylvester Stallone and Al Pacino impression amidst the political turmoil his character eventually encounters.

On the other hand, there are some disastrously misguided casting choices, beginning with Kelly Preston as Jack's wife and even though she exhibits some swagger towards the beginning to the film, she is unable to keep up with more skilled thespians as situations escalate towards the finale. The most egregious error is most certainly the inclusion of Jon Lovitz as the owner of a cruise line and casino who undertakes business dealings with Abramoff. Lovitz has proved himself a skilled comedian in supporting roles and did consistently great voice work on The Simpsons. Here, he is an unmitigated disaster, single handily sinking the picture on multiple occasions. He seems oblivious as to when to calm down, his camera mugging and inflections are grinding, and he is apparently unable to quit being Jon Lovitz and simply shut up; this is simply a poor choice by late director George Hickenlooper.

The story at play is a fascinating one, and seeing Jack at his manipulative best even as his world comes crashing down is engrossing. The middle portion however does its bookend acts an injustice, sagging down the segments exploring the infamous lobbyist rise and his inevitable fall. Hickenlooper seems unable to decide how to structure the transition; not how Spacey handles the material pertaining to his character's downfall, but rather the jumble of events by which it is precipitated. Though the event itself makes for inspired reading in venues such as the news or a fact-based doc, perhaps there is not enough substantial material (or maybe too much) to make a fully compelling fictionalized account.

Though ultimately less than the sum of its parts, Casino Jack is timely, passionately constructed and true to its source events. Abramoff is successfully made into the three-dimensional character that those close to him likely knew, and that the media was never able to (or more likely never wanted to) capture. Spacey is without a doubt a large part of this indelibly fiery characterization and strangely (obviously for reasons we will never know) seems more invested in this character than he has in any during the last ten years. Casino Jack's follies are all the more disappointingly glaring considering how strong the hard-hitting portions were, and though better than the average fact-based account, good enough is never good enough when greatness seems to be within reach.

Lessons in Self Justification.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 11 July 2012]

I had a difficult time dealing with this movie, partly because the entire system of lobbying is so despicable in itself, and partly because the writer has done his best to show Jack Abramoff as a fundamentally nice guy who just overreached a little and got caught.

I mean, right at the beginning, after we see Kevin Spacey (superb) talking to himself in a mirror, we hear his explanation of why lobbyists exist. Because they're useful. They give legislators information about subjects the legislators need to know something about in order to do their jobs.

That explanation comes straight out of a now unfashionable school of sociological thought called functionalism. If something exists in a society, it's there for a good reason. Otherwise it wouldn't be there, right? Whores make the streets safe for our wives and children. The Mafia fills in the gaps that the police force can't, and it meets a market demand among consumers of illegal goods. Mass murderers and psychopaths provide us with bad examples that we can point out to our kids so they'll know what not to become.

According to the film, Abramoff just did was everyone else was doing. He only had the misfortune of being caught. Nobody argues that perhaps congressional aides or interns ought to be doing the research instead of paid lobbyists. No explanation is offered for why spending on lobbyists more than doubled between 2000 and 2009.

There are no such reality intrusions. Abramoff is a colorful, funny, very active guy. He works out. He loves his family. He knows everyone. He's religious. He opens a kosher restaurant on K Street and plans to open a Hebrew school.

A second reason I found it hard to assess the movie is that I didn't understand it because I'm too dumb. I couldn't follow all the shenanigans. Okay. In one of his minor deals, towards the beginning, the Chippewa tribe, among whom I once lived as a cultural anthropologist, gave him millions of dollars and the money apparently disappeared. Where? I don't know. I told you I was dumb. I don't know what an expression like "he wants ten percent under the table" means. I don't know why a Greek was killed. I don't know why Jon Lovitz got stabbed with a ball point pen. Tom DeLay has a prominent role and I don't know what he did that was supposed to be bad. Abramoff makes some venomous remark about George W. Bush at the end and I don't know why. And I can hardly credit the notion that Mike Scanlon's (Barry Pepper, with a great twisted face) girl friend dropped the dime on all these enterprises because she found a pair of red alien panties in her boy friend's laundry. It's the kind of movie that someone as stupid as I am needs a little preparation for -- a few hours of studying with a book called "Lobbying for Dummies" or something.

Because except for the murder I couldn't identify a single illegal act in the entire movie. Lobbyists give money to politicians and the politicians do favors in return. It sounds a lot like bribery to me, and I know THAT'S illegal, or at least I think it is, but I don't know why, when it takes one form, it's called "lobbying" and is as kosher as Abramoff's restaurant that serves the best roast beef in the city, and why, when it takes another form, it's called "bribery" and you go to jail.

I do, however, recognize a decent performance when I see one, and three performances are stand outs in this production. Kevin Spacey, a little older and chubbier, gets to do some of his impersonations -- Clinton, Al Pacino, and a few others, and he's good. Barry Pepper as Scanlon is terrific as well, as the emotionally unstable squeal cat. And Jon Lovitz is funny, no matter whether the part calls for a comic presentation or not. He's hilarious in some scenes, which I won't spell out.

Not a masterpiece by any means -- "Barbarians At The Gates" is about leveraged buy outs and it's better -- but worth seeing once. I hope you have better luck in decoding the events than I did.

Superlative and darkly humorous saga of disillusionment

[pmalt · 23 November 2010]

I confess to having followed Jack Abramoff's actual denouement years ago only as much as I could tolerate without gagging. My feelings toward lobbyists are mostly of disgust anyway. But to separate this work of art from the morality of its subject matter, I must say that this is a fine, fine film. Mr. Hickenlooper's death is a profound loss to all of us. I find Kevin Spacey and Barry Pepper at the top of their form here. The character and the situation give Spacey a broad stage to display his talents and range. Abramoff is no easy character to portray with any sympathy at all, and I had virtually none, but my outrage over the facts didn't spoil my enjoyment of the entertainment one bit. A tribute to all involved.

As far as the abuses portrayed, all I can say is, I really hope the American citizenry somehow wakes up and unites to end the stranglehold that cash has put on our democracy. The utter hypocrisy and self-serving, greedy behavior of our politicians is harming us for generations to come. If they truly love their country, they must reject and expose lobbyists sacrificing our national welfare to Mammon.

True account of scumbag Jack Abramoff. Spacy does great job, funny and infuriating, good movie and debate starter. I say B+

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 6 April 2011]

How long can you screw someone before you get caught? The true story of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Spacy) and his partner Michael Scanlon (Pepper). After finding a contribution loophole, Abramoff and Scanlon begin to exploit this and become very, very rich. I enjoyed this movie. I like true story movies, and I really enjoy political ones too. There was a lot of stuff in here I didn't know about. The amount he took and the favors he gave out are astounding. This movie really exposes the lengths that he and other senators will go to in order to get what they want. The movie is filled with different movie quotes from the "Godfather", "Rocky" and others, which is fun (Spacy is a pretty good impressionist). Overall I really liked this movie, and found myself liking Abramoff even less then before. The amount of money he through around to get his way is enough to make you sick, especially when you think a lot of our tax money went to helping him by a casino boat. Abramoff gets an F, as for the movie, I give it a B+.

Would I watch again? - Yes I would, this is the kind of movie I like

An engrossing real life drama

[perkypops · 6/10 · 16 October 2011]

The most awful thing about Casino Jack is knowing it is true, knowing all the good people being fleeced, taken for a ride, are real, knowing that the central theme of this story is alive, kicking and fuelled for take-off even now.

As a dramatisation it works because we do not have to dwell on the complexity of the deals being set up, who is ripping off who, who is the biggest liar. The film's smart pace allows us to soak up the facts like ink on blotting paper and at our own pace.

Thankfully we can lose ourselves in the characters, all of whom are played to perfection by a very strong cast, and all of whom resonate to the people we see and hear about on TV, in the media, even in show business. These are the folk who have more money than sense, or, more accurately, more credit and no shame if they can get away with making huge profits immorally. Less appealing are the players in real life who really are being torn apart through their desperation for attention, for expressions of interest, where any interest may be better than nothing. In this area we are left to feel morally lacking for not doing more to stop this kind of stuff. But the story simply keeps rolling along and we witness the demise of the main characters Abramoff (Spacey) and Scanlon (Pepper) just as it happened in real life.

The opening of the movie sets the scene well into the plot where much of the twisting and double crossing has already begun to unravel. Then we are witness to the events as they unfold through the deals, the double crosses, and the nasty side of greed (is there a nice side?). As the credits roll we also see a couple of the real life events depicted in the movie played back to us, to allow us to judge authenticity. I wonder if this was the only mistake the film makes. I felt the film spoke for itself.

As distressing and disturbing as the film's subject should be it is played out in such a way as we are information and knowledge gathering much like a media warning about "this is what lobbying really is". It is also a shrewd warning as to how shameless and immoral some people are when they are saying nice things to you, as if we needed a warning! I found it worthwhile to research the subject of lobbying a little more after I had seen this film and found myself disbelieving some of the things I have found out. This alone convinced me the film does not pull any punches.

Watch it just to wise up. Fortunately it is acted so powerfully and so sharply you will not want to look away.

You won't believe what lobbyists are doing in this country.

[FilmRap · 7/10 · 15 April 2010]

Jack Abramoff was a very successful but very greedy Washington lobbyist who now sits in a federal jail serving out his 4 year prison term scheduled to released later this year. Director George Hickenlooper had the idea to tell his story and enlisted writer Norman Snider to put together the screenplay based on the facts of this true story. Hickenlooper spent 30 hours visiting Abramoff in prison to gather as much information as possible to add to their study of the historical documents upon which this movie was based. Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey who plays Abramoff participated in one of these five jailhouse visits and he apparently hit it off quite well with the protagonist despite their being at opposite poles of the political spectrum. If you know the widely reported story of how Abramoff took excessive fees from multiple Indian tribes, was involved with shady business deals and paid off congressmen landing at least one in jail and causing Tom Delay majority leader of Senate to quit this position and his Senate seat, you may be a little bored as the details are played out. On the other hand, many viewers will be getting a great history lesson at the same time that they are seeing a very well done movie. Barry Pepper is sufficiently nefarious in looks and deeds as Michael Scanlon, Abramoff's partner who deserved more than he got for punishment. Jon Lovitz plays an almost completely serious role as a not so smart and crooked enough to end up in jail, business associate of Abramoff. Political junkies will love this movie. You can't help coming away from seeing it without wondering how can we let our political system continue to function without reigning in lobbyists. Hickenlooper related an incident, which he touches upon at the end of the film, where while in jail anticipating his release shortly before the upcoming 2010 elections Abramoff has expressed a desire to collaborate with the Democrats and reveal information that he knows about the Republicans in order to hurt them in this and future elections. While this film is scheduled for wide release and distribution prior to the November election, there is also another movie coming out at the same time about Abramoff, which is an actual documentary and may have the same name as this one. Instead of Kevin Spacey that one will star the real Abramoff.

Corruption rules!

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 30 January 2011]

George Hickenlooper's final film - he died a few weeks before the release - focuses on super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his involvement in a corruption scandal that brought down some White House staffers and congress members. "Casino Jack" isn't quite as good as Alex Gibney's documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" but certainly kept my attention every step of the way, just seeing how far Abramoff's reach extended, and how intricate the scandal was.

Kevin Spacey, playing the disgraced lobbyist, shows him to be a slick-talking dude who essentially believes that he's doing the right thing by turning the US government into an ATM for the highest bidder. Meanwhile, he overcharges his Indian clients and helps keep a Mariana Islands sweatshop open. And it extends way beyond that! The look at Abramoff's family life is a little less engrossing. It's clear that his obsession with money has clouded his mind and he's living beyond his means, but it doesn't pack the same punch that the far-reaching scandals do.

So, it's certainly an interesting movie to watch, just to see to what extent Abramoff's deeds turned the government into a bastion of corruption, but it's definitely not as good as it could have been.

Also starring Kelly Preston, Rachelle Lefevre, Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Graham Greene, Maury Chaykin, Christian Campbell and Spencer Garrett.

PS: At the Golden Globes in early 2006, in the wake of Abramoff's conviction, Ben Stiller said "Why would the parents name their son Jack when the last name ends in 'off'?"

Not a good film. Not Spacey's best.

[catblack-692-314355 · 1/10 · 23 November 2010]

I had the misfortune of seeing this film. I had thought it was going to be good, perhaps giving some insight into a political scandal I hadn't followed too closely. It didn't.

The first half of the movie was mired in the land of bad exposition. Characters would come on screen and say "remember how we were back in college when..." or "Hey, it's so and so, a reporter for the Washington Post!" This went on and on. Meanwhile, all of the scenes blast along without any sort of emotional appeal, no characters to connect with, not a single person on screen to care about.

Spacey is a great guy to watch, but here he's ham-stringed by the combination of bad script and worse direction. Even in scenes where his character is having political turmoil at the end of the film (as the real Abramoff is in jail, this should be no surprise) Spacey doesn't even sweat. Literally. He's calm and cool but doesn't seem to care about his character's dilemma.

Overall this movie is glib. Some movies can pull off the pacing that this movie attempts and it comes off as charming, quirky or perhaps even a little sinister. Casino Jack doesn't. It's got a story to tell and it's going for the lowest common denominator in showing it to you. You won't get any subtle clues, no emotional telegraphing, no clever reveals. Just a scandalous story involving unlikeable portrayals, described with no style and with no real energy.

Odd Casting

[clg238 · 7/10 · 9 January 2011]

The movie made a great deal out of Casino Jack's Jewishness. The problem however, at least for me, is that every time I looked at Kevin Spacey, I saw an Irishman. Whatever Kevin Spacey is, ethically, doesn't matter, but he looks terrible for this part. I found it hugely distracting. This is not a plea for stereotypical casting but for intelligent consideration of how actors come across. There were many inadvertent laughable moments in the film and also a few, too few, deliberate LOL moments. There were excellent performances by Jon Lovitz and Maury Chaykin—they almost made the film worth watching. I think part of the problem with the construction of the film is that the target audience had not been fully decided: Was the intended audience viewers who didn't have a clue about Abramoff, viewers who knew a little bit, or who knew a great deal and wanted to see it played out on the screen? I suspect the film is mostly viewed by those who know the story, and therefore it was annoying to hear all the primers, the explanations by the characters of the players and their history. Not a successful film, but I liked being reminded of this sordid story, which, alas, is an on-going story in American government.

Typical HBO style docudrama.

[scrapmetal7 · 5/10 · 8 April 2011]

Movies like this, Spinning Boris, Barbarians at the Gate, Recount, bla bla bla... A lot of the reviewers on this board are treating this like a real movie and complaining about the style, the pacing, the acting, or whatever. They don't realize that the HBO docudrama is a genre of its own, and they all are directed like this, and have this kind of music and structure and pacing and so on. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. They are fakey, boringly executed accounts of real things that happened, they feel like they take a million years to watch, and they really only appeal to people the first time they see one.

Republican culture is full of sleazy, cynical con artists with big dreams that hinge on manipulating people and ripping them off. This movie is about two such men, Jack Abramoff and Mike Scanlon, and they are worthless people that no one with a soul can empathize with or relate to at all. Watching them make their plans and cheat people and be disloyal to their friends and lovers is boring. there's no entertainment value to it.

In movies like this it is important for the screenwriters to feel that they've painted their main character as an irascible, charismatic character, rascally and witty, full of little zinger lines and whatnot. The real Jack Abramoff seems to be a boring douchebag, and he probably did constantly do impressions of celebrities, but I doubt he was as interesting to watch as Kevin Spacey (who is not interesting enough to save this movie).

My 348th Review: You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried -blackest political comedy of the year

[intelearts · 8/10 · 21 November 2010]

Both gobsmakingingly awesome in its (true) take on Washington and just way OTT look at the Beltway, CJ is just so good. Honestly, if this had been made as fiction you'd shoot it down as implausible - the stink goes how high? - but here we see lobbyist and senators in cahoots to get the dollar in their pocket at the expense of just about every body else.

Spacey is in fine form, with a sterling support cast, and the film is best viewed as a buckle up and grin fair ride to the underbelly of politics - it really is so way beyond your standard black comedy or satire that it's just jaw dropping.

We enjoyed CJ - it doesn't aim to be a political thriller or have any great message but it is a lot of black comedy and seriously messed-up situations from beginning to end.....

Have fun now.....

Hit the road ... Jack

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 1 August 2012]

This movie just got released on DVD and Blu Ray this summer (2012) in Germany. I don't know about the rest of the world (though guessing it must have gotten a theatrical release in America, cast and director alone should stand for that), but this is not only 2 years after it's initial making, but also 2 years after its director past away. RIP George Hickenlooper.

Kevin Spacey excels in a very eccentric role that is based on a real person (events), though I haven't read up on him to say how much or close this is to reality. The "character" does have quite a few inconsistencies throughout (his goals clash somewhat with his intro mirror monologue), but that might make him intriguing. Of course the moral level is always defined by one owns perspective. That doesn't mean it's right or wrong. Or that some of us wouldn't have done the same things if we had the chance.

And that is what the movie is ultimately about. What might seem like a light affair, is actually a deep look into human psyche. It still has a few flaws (not in most of the acting department), but it does work, if you like those sort of movies

Hollywood and politics, always a bad mix.

[timmyj3 · 3/10 · 1 February 2012]

I viewed Casino Jack recently. The story centers around Jack Abramoff who is a registered lobbyist. It is kind of an odd movie subject. Jack rises and then falls in a dramatic fashion even though the true story is pretty dull. Lets look at the different areas of this film. After reviewing the specifics I want to talk about Hollywood and politics.

The acting: Kevin Spacey was the only reason this film is watchable. He delivers a solid smooth performance. Barry Pepper is becoming a first rate supporting actor. Spencer Garrett was strong as Tom Delay. Kelly Preston is a weak link. Not sure how she got this role ( I have an idea though). Her looks are gone and her mediocre acting ability is getting even worse. Poor choice. The rest of the cast is OK. GRADE B-.

The story/screenplay: This film was written by Norman Snider. This is as bad as it gets. He gets most of it wrong. Making some stuff up out of the blue. He tries to tie the life long criminal activities and ultimate death of the SunCruz owner to Jack with no proof or even allegations. This was the only interesting part of the film and its mostly false at least in tying it to Abramoff. The dialog is more of "evil Rupublican" theme than anything. Of note, the director's brother is a Democratic Governor in Colorado. We make Tom Delay a focal point here. He had some ethics issues but none seemed linked to Jack. As time as gone on Delay has actually been vindicated in most common sense circles. The real story of Abramoff is that he got greedy at the end with shaking down Indian tribes and trying to get into the offshore casino business. One point the movie harps on is that the Bush administration didn't help Jack when it went bad. Well doesn't that say something for integrity that the Bush administration would go after this guy in the first place? If Abramoff could be so damaging to the Republicans, wouldn't they have left him alone? If this would have been a factual story it would have been quote boring and complicated. GRADE D

The directing and technical aspects: The director was George Hickenlooper. He is awful. This film had a LMN feel to it. It seemed to have a decent budget but showed like a TV movie. This film was disjointed and not smooth. It seemed as the actors had very little to work with here. Again, Hollywood seems more interested in showing how bad the Republicans are than making a decent film that sticks to the facts. GRADE: D

Overall film GRADE: C- (only because of Spacey)

Now my big picture thoughts. Hollywood recently seems to be heavily invested in making mainstream films depicting the right as bad, evil, stupid, criminal, etc.. The logic seems to be lets use legitimate actors and films to twist facts and make some odd leftie political statements. Films such as this one, Too Big to Fail, Inside Job, No end in sight, Recount, etcc.. There seems to be a shift from the outright kooky Michael Moore stuff to a more "normal" looking films to further the nutty left look at things. I believe everyone one of these films has been a financial flop. Hollywood isn't good at listening to their customers. I suspect we will see more films like this depicting the right as evil and left as saintly.

This got me to thinking. We must have had 10 medium to big budget films ripping President Bush over the last 10 years. Most downright silly and clearly financial losers. But.. what about some "leftie" films that could/should be made? Here is a list of films we could make showing the left in not so flattering terms. Most would be pretty entertaining as well. Here goes:

1) "House of male Congessional review" Starring Rep. Barney Frank. Remember he and his partner ran a male prostitution ring out of their town home. You cant even make this up!!!

2) "I am not a drunk, no matter how many girls I kill" starring Sen. Ted Kennedy. This fool actually killed an innocent girl either by just being drunk or something more sinister. Oyy.

3) "Governor and mama need a new pair of shoes" Starring Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. This character actually tried to sell Obama's Senate seat!! This is gold!!

4) "I invented the Internet and baseball" Starring Vice President Al Gore. How come this fruit loop doesn't have more media dinging him? He is a liar and a profiteer. He has made more money on the global warming scam than there are carbon foot prints in Europe!

I think you get my points. While my suggestions may seem silly they are true and can be documented. Wouldn't a film on Blago be way more entertaining than Jack Abramoff?? I think it would. What about Barney Frank? This idiot not only broke the law with his house of ill repute, but it was his sponsored legislation that really enabled the housing collapse (forcing banks to give low income, no background check loans, Too Big to Fail must have missed this). Funny we never have seen Hollywood disparage any of these people.

While clearly few if any Americans actually look to Hollywood for political guidance they sure seem to want to give it to us. I mean do you want to be told how to vote or think by most Hollywood types? Of course not. Many of these people have no education, never had a real job, are surrounded by butt kissers. (Did you ever see that video of Matt Damon prattling on about dinosaurs and voting for Obama?? It was quite enlightening. Lets just say you wouldn't hire Matt to work at the local Wal-Mart). Gimme a break.

Hollywood, stick to entertaining us. You really should be better at it.

Enough hubris for a Shakespearean tragedy.

[JohnDeSando · 22 January 2011]

Ambition Is like the sea wave, which the more you drink The more you thirst—yea—drink too much, as men Have done on rafts of wreck—it drives you mad. Tennyson:The Cup. Act i. Scene 3.

Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) may be the most notorious lobbyist of all time: The fees he received from tribes with casino interests were in the millions, navigated through Mike Scanlon (Barry Pepper) so as not to violate laws placing limits on those fees for licensed lobbyists. This jaunty docudrama has the boldness of Abromov himself as it uses the actual names of politicians like Tom DeLay (Spencer Garrett) and Bob Nye (Jeff Postil), who ended up indicted for their parts in influence peddling. All the main characters have the names of real players, and while the film claims only to be "inspired" by real events, these characters were found guilty in real life.

Spacey plays Abramoff as a wheeler-dealer who knows he's getting deeper in trouble but can't stop himself. His apparent good deeds for the disadvantaged, such as his schools, couldn't mask the shenanigans he went through to get enough cash to float the good deeds, his two restaurants, and off-shore casinos. All the time his wife (Kelly Preston) is worried because of late notices for the mortgage.

During this time, certain Native Americans are on to his tricks and closing in on his exorbitant fees for uncertain profit to the reservations. In this regard, the story is as you would guess it—the rise and fall of a gifted but flawed lobbyist who couldn't abide by the rules.

Although he appears relatively high-spirited and hopeful in prison, I have a feeling this upbeat ending may not be the way he spent his time. Events only "inspired" I must remember.

Eventually even President Bush, who profited from Abramoff's ability to reap funds for Republican campaigns, would not sign a pardon for him.

true story and even as Washington goes, outrageous

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 18 September 2013]

"Casino Jack" is the story of a government scandal, something we've become quite used to in this country. It was George Hickenlooper's last film. I'm not sure if the distribution was limited, but this movie lost money big time, and it didn't cost that much to start. There is also a documentary on this same subject.

Kevin Spacey stars as Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist turned criminal, as if what he was doing wasn't criminal enough, though legal. The film also features Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Rachel Lefevre, Kelly Preston, and Maury Chaykin.

Abramoff (Spacey), who was staying within legal bounds as a lobbyist, gets greedy and with his business partner Mike Scanlon (Pepper) starts taking exorbitant fees from various Indian tribes supposedly to help them with their casino businesses. Of course, these were rival casinos and besides the fact that he was taking more than the legal limit of money, it was conflict of interest to work for several tribes. Abramoff uses the money to open restaurants, a school for Jewish children, buy a fabulous home, all kinds of things.

The idea behind lobbying is that special interest groups - say, an Indian casino, pays a lobbyist who in turn pays congressmen to help smooth the way for the special interest via passage of laws, getting licensing, things of that sort. I don't know, I would call those bribes. Washington calls it lobbying. In one scene, Abramoff flies a bunch of politicos someplace and shows them a good time. We pay for that, by the way.

When a front man is needed, Abramoff turns to a mattress salesman (Lovitz) to help make a deal. Major, major trouble is the result. Abramoff ultimately is under investigation, his good friend, Senator Tom Delay, has to resign from the Senate, and the subpoenas start coming.

Kevin Spacey is excellent as the confident, charming, aggressive Abramoff, who thinks he has a lot of friends in high places. It's a big performance. Someone commented that they saw Abramoff interviewed and he seemed quite different from Spacey. Well, Abramoff was in prison at the time and I imagine by then he was quite different. Spacey met him and I have to assume picked up some characteristics from him. Barry Pepper is also top notch as the sleazy Mike Scanlon, whose massive infidelities cause a huge problem for both himself and Abramoff.

Jon Lovitz I think was miscast. How could anyone think this idiot could make a huge business deal? The character should have at least seemed like he could do a deal of that nature. The way Lovitz played it, no one would take him seriously - and that includes Abramoff.

This is a pretty sobering look at how our government is run, and frankly, it sucks. When Abramoff is supposed to testify before a committee, he fantasizes calling the committee a bunch of hypocrites. He was right. To hell with the public interest, where's my money.

Basic primer of Washington lobbyist's rise and fall

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 25 December 2010]

'Casino Jack' chronicles the rise and fall of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff starring Kevin Spacey. The film begins with his indictment, followed by a flashback to the beginning of his career as a high-powered lobbyist. The film does not get too deeply into Abramoff's activities in his younger days as head of the College Republican National committee and brief stint as a film producer. For information on his formative years, it is well advised to watch the excellent documentary about Abramoff entitled 'Casino Jack and the United States of Money'.

'Casino Jack' mainly focuses on the three major areas of Abramoff's lobbying history: work on behalf of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island (CNMI), for various Native American tribes to promote their casino gambling interests and purchase of SunCruz Casinos in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, initially owned by Konstantinos 'Gus' Boulos.

At the basic level, 'Casino Jack' provides an informative but somewhat superficial review of Abramoff's illicit activities (again, to be better informed, check out the documentary CJ and the US of Money). In the case of CNMI, sweatshop owners took advantage of the lax labor laws on the islands since the strict regulatory laws of the US did not apply. Abramoff got millions from these crooks to influence legislators to ensure that the sweatshop owners continued to exploit cheap labor imported from Asian countries. At one point, Abramoff is able to have Majority leader Tom Delay come out to the Marianas where he wines and dines him (including ubiquitous golf outings). Delay fails to make any deep inquiries regarding exploitation of the workers and is the later recipient of contributions to his campaign war chest and foundations from Abramoff. 'Casino Jack' further chronicles a setback that Abramoff must deal with—a new governor squashes Abramoff's contract so later CNMI senators are paid off and the senate council reinstates the contract. The US of Money documentary provides a sad postscript: international treaties eventually add regulatory clout to the garment industry so the sweatshop owners pick up and leave, resulting in the destruction of the islands' economy.

Abramoff's take no prisoners approach reaches its apotheosis in his dealings with the Native American tribes. Partnering with former Delay assistant, Mike Scanlon (played by an over the top Barry Pepper) Abramoff extracts millions from the Louisiana Coushatta tribe to ensure that the State of Texas passes a law preventing the Tiguas in El Paso from continuing to operate their casino there. He convinces the Coushatta tribe that his old college chum Ralph Reed, head of the Christian coalition, will work for the abolition of casino gambling in Texas. Since it would look bad that Reed was getting money from the Coushattas, their payments were funneled into a shell company under Scanlon's name. Money was sent to Reed and Scanlon but Abramoff of course got his cut, unbeknownst to the tribal leaders who agreed to the deal with Scanlon.. Then Abramoff goes back to the Tiguas and convinces them that although Reed worked against them in Texas, he actually was providing information about his anti-gambling strategy which would help Abramoff reverse the Texas ban on casino gambling. As it turned out, Abramoff's influence came to naught when Congress failed to overturn the Texas ban. The Tiguas were out millions and the embezzlement of their money figured in the eventual indictment of Abramoff.

Finally, in the most difficult aspect of the movie to understand, Abramoff enlists the aid of a disbarred attorney and Mattress company TV pitchman Adam Kidan, played by Jon Lovitz to purchase the SunCruz casino cruise boats. Lovitz plays Kidan as a comic sleaze-ball. The Abramoff documentary shows Kidan to be much more intelligent and classier than the way Lovitz depicts him here. The upshot of the SunCruz deal was that the owner Boulos was forced to sell his interest in his company since he was not a US Citizen. Abramoff conscripted a US representative Bob Ney (later convicted and jailed) to denounce Boulos in the Congressional record in exchange for access to Tom Delay. This apparently moved Boulos to act more quickly in agreeing to the sale of the company to Abramoff and Kidan. In order to obtain a $60 million loan, Abramoff and Kidan used a fake wire transfer of $23 million dollars and this was what they were eventually sent to prison for.

'Casino Jack' also delves into Abramoff's relationship with his wife, and some of his other interests including establishing of an Orthodox Jewish school for boys and two restaurants that he opened up for a time. Kevin Spacey is good at regurgitating all those movie lines Abramoff was famous for coupled with some notable impressions of famous politicians. But Spacey plays Abramoff more as a manic showman; the real Abramoff (in the documentary) appears to be much more low-key and cunning. Much more convincing is Spencer Garrett as Tom Delay who really gets the former representative down to a tee. Hannah Endicott-Douglass does a fine job as Abramoff's long-suffering wife. One of the best scenes is when she confronts her husband while he's taking a bath. Abramoff says he's ashamed of himself for letting 'God' down. The wife asks, "what about your family?"

For those who know nothing about the history of Jack Abramoff, 'Casino Jack' should be viewed as a basic primer on the events surrounding Abramoff's rise and fall. The film's scenarists do a fairly adequate job in covering the bases but much of what happens is not always easy to follow. That's what happens when there is too much material available to condense. I would have preferred that the casting director chose someone else besides Kevin Spacey to play Abramoff. Nevertheless, his performance is passable enough to hold one's interest to the end. I'm not entirely sure that 'Casino Jack' works as a comedy (which is what was basically done here). Certainly, there were comic moments to the saga. Overall, however, this was more tragic than funny.

Not a waste of time, based on true story but misses quite a bit

[SocalSam · 6/10 · 25 March 2012]

I liked the movie, but it was obvious that the movie was timed to come out to make the Republicans look bad. Too bad, if the movie showed the real facts, Kevin Spacey might have been nominated for a award or two. Sadly, the tale was extremely focused on making Republicans look bad, but should have made both parties look bad, and thereby lost focus.

Jon Levitt kills it, steals every scene he is in, and is just awesome. Good job.

Some of the other actors could have been exchanged for graduates from any film school and the newbies would have done better.

Overall, this film was much better then say the POS J. Edgar or Tin-Tin. If you are trapped on a plane say and this is on the free movie channel, catch it.

It was the story of Hurbis that Hollywood used to do well, but now that they HATE Republicans, they can't do at all anymore. Too bad.

Kevin Spacey, too bad. Like many of his recent movies, he gets lost in the poor storytelling. Hope Kevin got his jollies or made a lot of money on this movie.

Rate it: Not a waste of time.

If I didn't pour all that money into Florida that idiot would have never been elected and we'd all be better off for it!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 29 June 2012]

***SPOILERS***The film "Casino Jack" chronicles the life and times as well as crimes of super D.C political lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Kevin Spacey, who's feelings of invincibility came crashing down on him together with the gallery of crooks who aligned themselves with him."Rabbi" Jack himself got off pretty easy by spending less then four years behind bars in a federal prison where he, being an orthodox Jew, gave Jewish religious services and thought screen writing, in him being involved with the movie industry, to his fellow inmates.

We get to see Jack at the start of the movie being booked photographed fingerprinted and sent to the lock-up with his biggest shock is that there's no kosher food being served to the Jewish, as well as Muslim, prisoners like himself which seemed to bother Jack more then anything else. In fact what we soon see in a number of flashbacks is that the dealings that Jack had on the outside in stiffing his clients out of as much as 70 million dollars were anything but kosher themselves! Together with his parters in crime Michael Scanlon, Barry Pepper, and mattress mogul Adam Kian, Jon Lovitz, Jack stiffed as many people as Berney Madoff did but got a fraction of Madoff's ill gotten gain. As well as him getting a fraction, 3 1/2 to 150 years, of the time behind bars that Madoff got!

Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff really lets it all hang out in his Academy Award caliber,every bit as good as "The Usual Suspect" and "All American Beauty", performance as the slippery as an eel lobbyist who ended up destroying not only his innocent victims but those slimy creeps who worked together with him lives. Not only did Jack bring himself down but also his good born again Christian friend and benefactor Congressional Majority leader Tom "The Exterminator" DeLay, Spencer Garrett, whom beside being involved with him in robbing a number of Native American Indian Tribes blind in after taking their millions for getting them gaming licenses and not delivering but pushing modern day slavery legislation in Sipan in the Mariana Islands! That's by having the right to put the "Made In America" label, the islands where under US Government control, on the products being produced there.

What really lead to Jack & Co. downfall was their own greed in never having enough and feeling that no matter how deep in the hole they get there always will be someone around to bail them out. It's when Jack's stealing and covering up go so out of control that it even lead to the Mafia style murder of one of his biggest clients Greek shipping mogul Gus Boulis, Daniel Kash. That lead straight to Adam Kidan who had the mob whack Boulis in revenge of him viciously attacking Kidan with a ballpoint pen. It's that senseless action which started the domino's to fall and put all of Jack's future plans on ice or like himself in cold storage!

P.S Hilarious final with Jack on trial for his crimes in a dream sequence dreaming of himself as being actor Al Pacino in the movie "And Justice for All" as he stops invoking the 5th Amendment and then lets his accusers the members of the US Senate & Congress have it! Telling them in open court on live TV and radio just what a bunch of phony lying and sanctimonious frauds they are in taking his pay-off money and looking the other way when he committed his many crimes in that they should be right there on trial together with him!

Casino Jack: 4/10

[jnguyen46117 · 4/10 · 19 December 2010]

Based on a real story and a real documentary releasing the same year, Casino Jack is just another fictional version of this fascinating story. Jack Abramoff, a super-lobbyist in DC, who's job is to influence the congress in voting the way he wants. In return, Jack gets a sum of money from the special interest group that the voting benefited. This job is perfectly legal and the law even states that Jack can accept the money from the groups. But in order to get the voting the way he wanted, Jack has to offer sporting events, private jets, hookers, vacations, and money to the congressmen that are willing to participate. THIS is perfectly illegal. In doing all of this most of his life, Jack found himself in a ditch once in awhile and decided to take the wrong path down the road. Performing illegal activities, involving in murders, and bribing congressmen. By the end, Casino Jack told the story of Jack Abramoff but did not tell a good one. Sure this is a fascinating story, but director George Hikenlooper added unnecessary elements to the story that made it a dull and uninteresting political crap. Kevin Spacey's Golden Globe nominated performance did help with the film's uneasy story-telling, but as good as it is, Casino Jack seems to fall flat while trying to shoot really high. OscarBuzz: Kevin Spacey, Best Actor (A slight chance)

Casino Kevin!

[Hellmant · 6/10 · 31 January 2011]

'CASINO JACK': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Political comedy loosely based on Washington, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his conviction for fraud, among other things. Kevin Spacy stars as Abramoff and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his decent but not outstanding performance. The film co-stars Barry Pepper and Jon Lovitz in impressive supporting roles. It was written by Norman Snider and directed by George Hickenlooper, who died seven weeks before it's national release date.

The film is a Hollywood biography detailing Jack Abramoff's corrupt career which led him as well as nine other lobbyists, congressional staffers and a couple White House officials to convictions and prison sentences. Pepper co-stars as Michael Scanlon, Abramoff's protégé and partner for most of the scandal. The two spearheaded a conspiracy which involved fraud and the extortion of Native Americans as well as the bribing of public officials for political favors. The film is played out in a dark comedic way but it's subject matter is depressing and disturbing, which makes for a somewhat odd and misguided film.

The performances are mostly impressive but I don't think it's one of Spacey's better works, and certainly undeserving of any award nominations (but his career has been a little disappointing lately, I think he's a little too full of himself). The directing is adequate but as I said probably the wrong tone for the material. That's greatly due to the script as well which is kind of witty and clever but uneven and a little too all over the place. The politics are interesting and of course depressing and the film is especially dark because there's no one to root for or care about, with the exception of possibly Kelly Preston who plays Jack Abramoff's wife and Graham Greene who plays a SubChief of a victimized Indian tribe (but their characters are too small and underdeveloped). The film has some strengths and is a little entertaining but it's mostly a miss.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j95Zjdlcbe0

Political intrigue in this biopic about Jack Abramoff...

[ajs-10 · 5/10 · 23 October 2011]

I must admit I knew nothing about Jack Abramoff before seeing this film. I'm guessing his story caused quite a scandal in the corridors of power in Washington DC at the time. I have never taken much of an interest in American politics, it seems very complicated to me and this film hasn't really changed my view. It's opened my eyes somewhat, but it only goes to show just how cutthroat a business modern politics is! I will give you my thoughts on this one after a very brief summary.

This film tells the very recent story of Jack Abramoff and his associate, Michael Scanlon. They were lobbyists under the Bush administration. Their job was to find companies or organisations that wanted or needed changes in legislation. They would then, for a substantial fee, approach the various politicians they needed to get the job done. The wheels were often greased with large donations to re-election campaigns or similar. All of what I've said so far is, I believe, perfectly legal. The film tells us about their dealings with various Native American tribes and how they defrauded them out of large amounts of money in order to secure gambling rights. There is more to tell, but I'd better leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be charging me with misconduct.

Although I found the film a little hard to follow I did enjoy the performances or both Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff and Barry Pepper as Michael Scanlon. As I've already said, US politics is not a beast I usually confront and I'd like to say that this film convinced me otherwise, but sadly it didn't. I found most of the characters quite despicable (no real surprise there though) and the way they go about their business quite deplorable. The film itself is pretty well made and the plot does make sense after a while, after several of the threads begin to pull together. I can't exactly say it had me gripped, but it was quite well made and Kevin Spacey did a pretty good job in the leading role. Sadly it's not one I'd recommend unless you're really into American politics, or really have to see all of Kevin Spacey's films.

My Score: 5.4/10.

IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 6,457 votes at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36/100 (based on 90 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

"Casino Jack" features Kevin Spacey's best performance since 2005

[ScottDMenzel · 8/10 · 6 January 2011]

"Casino Jack" tells the real life story of Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey), who at one time held a successful career as a lobbyist in Washington, DC. Abramoff, like most lobbyists, was paid by big companies and organizations to help convince Members of Congress to vote for or against certain things in the senate. The film focuses on a massive corruption scandal that led himself, two White House officials, and 10 other lobbyists and congressional members to be convicted. This film is an interesting and somewhat humorous tale of just how far greed and money will take you in America.

I am not a news junkie by any means but I do remember this news story when it happened back in 2006. For those who don't recall, Jack Abramoff became a big focus in the news back in 2006 because he was convicted of fraud, tax invasion, and conspiracy. The film itself never really discusses his sentence however focuses on all the events leading up to it. Now given the fact that this is a movie, I am sure they took some liberties on the story to make it more entertaining. I will have to admit however that this movie seemed pretty realistic and seemed like most of it was based on fact. The people involved in lobbying probably fear films like this because I am sure it shows their true colors. The film really shows how anyone can be bought for the right price and the right amount of negotiation.

Kevin Spacey nails the role of Jack Abramoff in the film. We all remember Spacey from the 1990's when he amazed us in "American Beauty," "L.A. Confidential," and "Usual Suspects" but recently his films just haven't been delivering. However, I am happy to say with "Casino Jack" I really enjoyed his role. It was a very interesting role, he was a little crazy, a bit of a smooth talker, but yet overall a likable guy. I noticed Spacey got nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in this flick and I have to admit either him or Paul Giamatti should get it. This is the first time since 2005 where I think Spacey has actually found a role that fit him as an actor. He was really superb in this flick.

Other than Spacey, there were some good supporting actors here. Barry Pepper, does a good job of getting the audience to hate him. He plays a young clueless womanizer who is also a lobbyist helping out Jack. Kelly Preston plays Jack's wife and she doesn't have much of a part but does add a little bit of flair to some of the scenes. Jon Lovitz plays a great overweight and clueless man who doesn't know a thing about bad investments. He like Barry Pepper's character is also a bit of a womanizer but than again isn't that how most of those people in politics are.

The film was directed by George Hickenlooper, who oddly enough died before the film was actually released. This officially marks his final film as a director. I can't say I have seen any of his previous work but I definitely like his take on this story. It was a very dark and sometimes funny look at things. His vision for Spacey as I said above was dead on. Huckenlooper really unlocked the dark side of politics with this film and really showcased how everyone has a price and even the most likable guys can have dark side.

Norman Snider wrote the screenplay for "Casino Jack" and really did a wonderful job creating the man known to the world as Jack Abramoff. With the help of Hickenlooper directing, Snider's script really made these actors seem like the people they were suppose to present. The script itself was very well written with great dialogue and focused on some of the key elements of the scandal. Snider did an excellent job with character development and that is really what made the film work. This is a very character driven story so its good to see that Snider made it his priority to focus on that.

In the end, I think with the right marketing this film could have been a lot bigger. I was surprised to see how middle of the road most reviews were for this movie. I thought it was a really solid drama with some comedic elements and a great performance by Kevin Spacey. I also have to say that the tag line for the film, "Honor. Integrity. Principles. Everything is Negotiable" is a perfect summary for the movie. If you like films based on actual events with a well written story than you will probably like this. This is definitely a very political film and really does make most politicians and lobbyists look like complete asses but than again don't well all feel that way now? Isn't everyone in government a crook and about themselves? I think a lot of people tend to believe this and this movie only showcases that more. It was a well made and well acted movie and for that I give it solid marks.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Casino Jack" is a 8 out of 10. Kevin Spacey's performance is worth the price of admission alone.

Competent telling of the tale with the usual high performance by Spacy

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 8 March 2013]

It really wasn't until "The Usual Suspects" (1995) that I really noticed Kevin Spacey, and from then on I really looked at him as one of the very best actors in Hollywood. That doesn't mean I've always appreciated the movies he's selected to appear in, but -- like Jack Nicholson -- even in a bad film, Spacey is interesting to watch.

And so, when this film came on cable, I thought I'd watch a bit of it just to enjoy a Spacey performance, but I had no intention of watching the whole film. But, as usual, the joy of watching Spacey act pulled me in and I watched it all...and I'm glad I did. That's not to say this is a great film. It's not. But it's better than average...perhaps.

The first strength is in Spacey's performance. Flawless, as it almost always is. And what is Spacey's strength. In my view, much the same as the strength in Spencer Tracy's mature performances -- understatement.

Barry Pepper is also excellent as a fellow conspirator of Abramoff's. Jon Lovitz...well, I can't quite decide how I feel about his performance as a sleaze ball, but at the very least he was interesting. No one else in the film stands out in my mind, but everyone does their job.

To enjoy this film, you have to either like Spacy or enjoy politics...or both. Recommended, though I doubt this will end up on your DVD shelf.

Wrong bet

[p-stepien · 4/10 · 15 June 2012]

In a world in turmoil the world of politics, big business and the profligate space in between has been increasingly nominated to be the devil's Trojan horse in modern day society. No one better fits the bill of demon spawn than Jack Abramoff (played intuitively by a potent Kevin Spacey). Working as a lobbyist to the Capitol with intimate ties to the White House and Goerge W. Bush Jr. he as full access to the decision-making quarters and apt opportunities for political racketing and profiteering. Amongst his most pronounced victims Indian tribes in boom thanks to the newly developed gambling business. Money is the motivator, albeit Abramoff, unlike his partner Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper), does have a misguided sense of communal responsibility, limited however to investment in Jewish educational facilities and development of kosher restaurants.

A movie about a man, who wanted it all - power, influence and money - but caught fire by overreaching and losing perspective. In the end the high-life tumbles around him to engulf him. Such a strong potential story...

But such an aseptic delivery. The events unfold in a leisurely, almost sluggish, manor, weaving the fabric of deceipt, lies and overblown egos. They do not however knit together into a well-prepped end result, but incite a sense of lethargy and disinterest, which degrades the plausible performance by the cast, fronted by Kevin Spacey. With so much substantive source material "Casino Jack" perpetuates a mean task by boring the hell out of viewers and fumbling to convey the magnitude of the downfall, mainly owed to a lack of focus throughout. not to mention that some key dots were never connected, leaving holes as to what happened and why.

Thankfully the horrendous awareness that this is in fact a true story, with people cheated and taken for a ride, adds a subconscious punch to presented reenactments. Essentially it does manage to deliver a poignant message regarding the true nature of lobbying and its functionality. Abramoff's case was specific as he attempted to bite of more than he can chew, but the reality is that these are everyday shenanigans, albeit of a lesser, more self-controlled, scale. Despite the culmination delivering a sub-par punch, the message manages to burrow inside and create a well-deserved backlash at reality.