Hollywood Hues
Glitzy thriller
Ervell E. Menezes

Robert Luketic’s 21 starring Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth is about a bunch of whizkids who strike it rich in the Las Vegas casinos

When Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) turns 21 and his ma tells him "have fun, don’t come back before 3 a.m.", not in her wildest dreams would she imagine what her son would eventually be going through but that is the basis of 21, a glitzy Hollywood thriller that shuttles between the academics of MIT and the glare of the casinos in Las Vegas.

What’s more, 21 is based on a true story and a book Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich (even their names have "rich" in them) and is about how a bunch of whiz kids beat the odds at blackjack and take the Las Vegas casinos for millions. They are led by their eccentric Prof. Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) and the cool, confident Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth) provides the romantic flavour.

If one isn’t a blackjack fiend, it may take a while to sink into the gambling scenario but soon the high stakes action, incredibly close calls with Vegas security (Laurence Fishburne) and the up and down side of the glamorous Las Vegas lifestyle is likely to get to you and it is how these bright youngsters live a schizophrenic existence. The bottom line is striking it rich by beating the doctored casino system.

Director Robert Luketic’s insight into the whole subjects is impeccable and he unfolds the story at a staccato pace. Ben has his friends at MIT but it is the "core group" that is looking for fun. There are the usual Hollywood references to earlier films like Rain Man because our hero sort of resembles Tom Cruise but Kevin Spacey expectedly gets the best lines which he puts across with expected aplomb.

Maybe the 120-minute-long film could have been clipped by at least one-fourth but the temptation to be with the neon-lights glare of the casinos was probably too much for Luketic to resist. Of course, like most Hollywood movies, it tends to glorify that razzle-dazzle city and may be make a case for gambling or rather cheating. The chemistry between Ben and Jill is good and provides some relief but the bottom line is the nerve of these raiders to beat the system. That’s where 21 differs from the run-of-the-mill entertainers Hollywood churns out these days. That itself merits a look-see to say nothing of two promising young actors in Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth. Kevin Spacey lives up to his reputation but Laurence Fisburne could well have been a piece of furniture.

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