George Hickenlooper's "Casino Jack": Movie Review

George Hickenlooper's "Casino Jack" is a vibrant romp through a defining political scandal of the 21st Century. With Hickenlooper's death this year the director leaves us with a last laugh that is, to quote his characters "trying to lighten the mood."

The film spins a fictionalized web ripped straight from the headlines, bringing a colorful interpretation that still drops a heavy load of shame on lobbyist Jack Abramoff. We can't help but be suckered into almost liking Abramoff with Kevin Spacey's performance. It's not empathy or even the charisma that Spacey brings to portraying one of the worst figures to get slapped on the wrist by the U.S. justice system.

From the moment we meet Spacey's Abramoff, brushing his teeth with a monologue of machismo intellect, we are glued to the seat. Spacey gives us an Abramoff that we love to hate, like a Gordon Gekko with no redemptive sequel in the works. The rich jerks on K-Street are much worse than the rich jerks on Wall Street though. Lobbyists and politicians hide behind false values and ethics that raise billions for the supposed betterment of the community and country.

As George Hickenlooper so portrays in "Casino Jack", these are high-fiving white guys who snort coke off prostitutes on Saturday and go to Church on Sunday. Or rather synagogue on Saturday in the case of Jack Abramoff's deeply Jewish faith so skillfully ridiculed in the film.

Abramoff was once a Hollywood movie producer who's only notorious venture was the anti-communist action thriller starring Dolph Lundgren, "Red Scorpion." Abramoff also wrote the story for "Red Scorpion", but didn't go without political controversy dealing with propaganda from the Apartheid South African government. A movie poster of the film adorns Abramoff's office in "Casino Jack", Dolph Lundgren's face starring at us with a prophetic notion that his empire will crumble.

This is just one of George Hickenlooper's touches that make this political foray a rambunctious Hollywood personification of Washington lobbyists. With Abramoff and his cohort Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper) constantly quoting lines from "Rocky", "The Godfather" and "Taxi Driver", they claim to be "trying to lighten the mood". These tense moments punctured by their inappropriate impersonations take on a quasi-synecdoche for "Casino Jack".

As mentioned, George Hickenlooper is in a sense trying to lighten the mood, but in no way is it inappropriate. This full scale Hollywood impersonation of Jack Abramoff's crew does lighten the mood of a rather serious dilemma facing politics. Lobbying continues to feed the pockets of rich jerks and stifle progress for a better America. It doesn't hurt to laugh in disgust at it as long as we learn from it and "Casino Jack" does just that.

"Casino Jack" comes off as a Satire, yet stabs an even deeper chord by not changing the names and places. Kevin Spacey flexes his full range as an actor as Jack Abramoff and is reason alone to see the film. Both "Casino Jack" and the new Coen Brothers's film "True Grit" are also realize the true potential of Barry Pepper, who has come a long way since "Battlefield Earth". Pepper's overgrown frat-boy portrayal of Michael Scanlon is a riot.

Kelly Preston ("Jerry Maguire", "For Love of the Game") plays Abramoff's wife with a subtle and convincing empathy; another actress who's come a long way since the raspberry-rife "Battlefield Earth." Jon Lovitz plays Abramoff's Casino crony and does little more than just be himself, but it's still hilarious to watch.

There is also the cameo of George Hickenlooper's cousin, Colorado governor elect John Hickenlooper. Although John Hickenlooper did not actually serve on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that investigated Abramoff, he certainly carries a congressional presence.
Apparently John Hickenlooper has the same talent at lightening the mood as his cousin did. When "Casino Jack" screened at the Denver Film Festival just days after his death, John Hickenlooper introduced the film. With tears choking his words into several moments of silence, J. Hickenlooper said, "George would have been pleased that I could not speak."