2010 Canadian film by George Hickenlooper
Casino Jack
(released in certain territories as
Bagman
) is a 2010
biographical
crime drama
directed by
George Hickenlooper
and starring
Kevin Spacey
. The film focuses on the career of
Washington, D.C.
, lobbyist and businessman
Jack Abramoff
, who was involved in a massive
corruption scandal
that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two
White House
officials,
Rep.
Bob Ney
, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of
fraud
,
conspiracy
, and
tax evasion
in 2006,
[5]
and of trading expensive gifts, meals and vacations for political favors.
[6]
[7]
Abramoff served three and a half years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a
halfway house
. He was released on December 3, 2010.
Spacey was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor ? Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
for his portrayal of Abramoff, eventually losing to
Paul Giamatti
for his role in
Barney's Version
.
[8]
Plot
[
edit
]
A hot shot Washington DC lobbyist and his protege go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Principal photography
took place in June 2009 in various locations across
Hamilton, Ontario
, including
McMaster University
and downtown Hamilton. The film was scheduled for release in December 2010 and premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival
.
[9]
This was Hickenlooper's final film, as he died on October 29, 2010, seven weeks before its release.
[10]
Reception
[
edit
]
On the
review aggregator
website
Rotten Tomatoes
, 39% of 97 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Kevin Spacey turns in one of his stronger performances, but
Casino Jack
is a disappointingly uneven fictionalized account of a fascinating true story."
[11]
Metacritic
, which uses a
weighted average
, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
[12]
Roger Ebert
gave the film three out of four stars, stating that "
Casino Jack
is so forthright, it is stunning."
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Punter, Jennie (September 9, 2010).
"ATO nabs 'Casino Jack' in U.S."
Variety
. Retrieved
January 30,
2022
.
- ^
"
Casino Jack
(15)"
.
British Board of Film Classification
. April 17, 2012
. Retrieved
November 10,
2023
.
- ^
Rechtshaffen, Michael (October 14, 2010).
"Casino Jack"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
February 18,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Casino Jack (2010)"
.
Box Office Mojo
. Retrieved
November 10,
2023
.
- ^
Forsythe, Michael; Salant, Jonathan D. (January 3, 2006).
"Abramoff Pleads Guilty, Will Help in Corruption Probe"
.
Bloomberg.com
. Archived from
the original
on December 29, 2013.
- ^
"US lobbyist jailed for corruption"
.
BBC News
. September 4, 2008
. Retrieved
July 27,
2016
.
- ^
Wilber, Del Quentin; Johnson, Carrie (September 5, 2008).
"Abramoff Gets Reduced Sentence of Four Years in Prison"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
July 27,
2016
.
- ^
Kevin Spacey
Archived
August 12, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Evans, Ian (2010).
"Casino Jack premiere photos - 35th Toronto International Film Festival"
.
DigitalHit.com
. Retrieved
April 10,
2012
.
- ^
Durand, Elizabeth (November 1, 2010).
"Spacey Speaks About Sudden Death of 'Casino Jack' Director George Hickenlooper"
.
MTV News
. Retrieved
December 16,
2012
.
- ^
"
Casino Jack
"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
.
Fandango Media
. Retrieved
November 10,
2023
.
- ^
"
Casino Jack
"
.
Metacritic
.
Fandom, Inc.
Retrieved
November 10,
2023
.
- ^
Ebert, Roger
(December 29, 2010).
"The one-armed bandit of D.C. lobbyists"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
– via
RogerEbert.com
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Events and scandals
| |
---|
Pleaded guilty or convicted
| |
---|
Indicted/charged
| |
---|
Named but not charged
| |
---|
Films
| |
---|
Others
| |
---|
Lists
| |
---|