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Two for the MoneyMike ClarkThe title Two for the Money sounds as if it belongs on a '40s comedy - and not on a movie starring Al Pacino when he's approaching emeritus status. So it's only a mild surprise that what we get on screen is, if not high drama, at least non-comedic - a movie for those who haven't seen Oliver Stone's 1987 Wall Street. This shakier variation follows the same parabolic fortunes of a hot young hopeful in a turbulent cash-cow profession, corrupted and mentored at work by a suspect role model. Part of the movie's problem is that the youngster (Matthew McConaughey) takes a lot longer than we do to spot cavernous chinks in Al's armor. McConaughey plays a broke college football player who has to drop out of school after an injury - and better this acting chore than trying to carry every grain of spring's miserable Sahara on his back. McConaughey will never be an actor who lets you into his soul, but he's credible as a good ole boy who knows how to pick winners in the flood of televised games that makes sports gambling a gazillion-dollar industry. Pacino hosts a cable show that's akin to those televised half-hour rundowns that offer unsure investors financial advice. He grooms prot??g?? McConaughey to be flashier than the down-home type he is, gives him a new name and touts the kid's picks as an 80% sure thing for listeners. All for an 800-number phone call and a piece of any bettor's winnings. The movie has a lot of built-in flash and is thus mildly entertaining, though the running time grinds it down. What's more, its only novel components are a couple of side issues: Pacino is a reformed gambling addict, while his hair-stylist wife (Rene Russo, her first film in three years) has to be his keeper and deal with her own sordid past.
Other than its current ad blitz, this isn't a movie garnering much buzz. Money pulls out its most histrionic stops for a somewhat over-the-top finale, which deters from what fun there has been. So with Pacino not doing much beyond what he has done before, it's time to take our cue from Ed Murrow: Good night and good luck.
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