Advertisement

21: Set amidst Las Vegas’ glitzy, sordid nightlife, the last thing you would expect from “21” is blandness.

Yet this new release, based on the astounding true story of college kids who beat Sin City casinos at their own games, quickly goes bust under the weight of predictable and unnecessary formula cliches.

Based on the best-selling true story “Bringing Down the House,” the film follows Jim Campbell (Jim Sturgess), an MIT student hoping to receive a scholarship into Harvard’s medical school. Jim seems like a nice enough guy, but it’s obvious he’s lacking some fun. His best friends are two nerds with whom he’s entered a robotics competition and he has a knack for solving impossible equations in class. As he prepares a scholarship essay, he laments that he has no special life experiences and pines after lovely Jill (Kate Bosworth).

Campbell soon meets Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey), a math professor who runs a card-counting operation by night. Rosa has instructed a group of students how to develop a system to beat the casinos at blackjack on the weekends. The method is apparently complex enough to only work among MIT math whizzes, although from what I gathered it simply involves making hand signals, thinking up funny names and memorizing code words. We did much the same thing when I was a kid playing war with my neighbors; if 10-year-olds are ever allowed into casinos, I fear Las Vegas is done for. But I digress ...

By now I’ve given you all the plot information you need. If you’ve already guessed that Vegas will totally change Jim into a money-loving jerk who ignores his friends, shirks his responsibilities, falls in love with Jill and goes head-to-head with his one-time mentor, pat yourself on the back. There is not a single formula that “21” doesn’t exploit and no cliche is left unused.

Director Rob Luketic has hit the jackpot at the box office before with the inoffensive, predictable romantic comedies “Legally Blonde” and “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton.” He tries a new direction here with an inoffensive, predictable drama fueled by an inoffensive, predictable script by Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb. Rather than take a smart and gripping true story and fill it with edge and grit, they transform it into a by-the-numbers drama with unmemorable characters, cheap attempts at suspense and a third act twist that is not so much unbelievable as underwhelming.

Luketic is not solely to blame here; the cast cannot even be enlivened by the prospect of filming in Vegas. Spacey appears and disappears as the plot requires, making a few quips before trying to turn tough in the end. He brings no nuance or originality to the character and one guesses that he came onboard simply for the prospect of hitting the slots between takes. Sturgess, who proved he could render Beatles’ tunes emotionless in last year’s “Across the Universe,” makes Las Vegas seem dull as the lead, who seems to gain enough money through blackjack to go to Harvard and yet can’t purchase the charisma he so badly needs. The supporting cast is paper-thin and unmemorable, particularly Bosworth, who does nothing with Jill other than show up and look pretty. For a film about Vegas high-rollers, no one ever appears to be having much fun. Only Laurence Fishburne, playing the security guard who brings down the group, shows any spark of originality. His character has a back story that may have been intriguing and made for a good film, and Fishburne seems to enjoy playing the heavy.

Luketic’s a competent, if unremarkable, director. I’ve enjoyed his other films and I cannot say that his work here is horrible, although his attempts at comic relief are delivered so poorly that I had to stifle a groan. The film’s third act finally shows some energy and humor, but the rest just seems lazy, pedestrian and dull.

Maybe what’s filmed in Vegas should stay in Vegas. Grade: D

Run, Fat Boy, Run: I will probably get some nasty letters for this. After all, I just trashed “21” for being predictable and formulaic, and now I’m going to praise the new romantic comedy “Run, Fat Boy, Run,” which works in spite of being predictable and formulaic.

The difference is that “21” also had the misfortune of being bland and dull while “Fat Boy” is surprisingly sweet and charming, and features a likable cast of characters. I can handle knowing where the story is headed as long as I’m allowed to enjoy the ride.

The fat boy in question is Dennis, a security guard at a London department store who is not so much fat as he is unfit, a differentiation he makes early in the film. Dennis is also a bit of a loser, having run out on his fiance Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar when she was pregnant.

That wouldn’t seem to be much of a protagonist, but thankfully Dennis is played by Simon Pegg, the star of the brilliant comedies “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” Pegg is a likable loser, and able to endear Dennis with an amount of heart, regret and immaturity that makes the audience able to root for his redemption.

The opportunity for that comes when Dennis learns that Libby, who he still pines for, is dating Whit (Hank Azaria), a businessman from the United States. Whit is the anti-Dennis; he’s smart, successful, kind and disciplined. He is also a marathon runner planning to run a race in London in the coming weeks; you can probably guess from the title that Dennis decides to run too, in an effort to prove himself to Libby.

The screenplay, originally written by Michael Ian Black and then polished by Pegg, is the definition of predictability, as most romantic comedies are. Are we really in much suspense over whether Dennis will run the marathon and whether or not he will gain Libby’s affections?

But David Schwimmer, of “Friends” fame, proves in his directorial debut that it’s possible to know where something’s going and still be invested in it, provided you have the right mixture of heart and humor. As I said before, Pegg’s self-deprecating humor and quirky characterizations make him endearing, and he’s able to manage clever line delivery and pratfalls ably.

The best scenes in the film involve Pegg’s banter with Dylan Moran, who plays Dennis’s best friend and Libby’s cousin. The two have a wonderful chemistry between them and the biggest laughs come from watching these two man-children try to act like grownups; it’s not easy when Moran plays a character who has a penchant for not wearing any pants. Azaria plays Whit as a genuinely nice guy for most of the film and he’s always been one of the most capable supporting comedians working. There are also some big laughs generated by Harish Patel, who plays Dennis’s landlord and assistant manager.

What is most surprising, however, is the amount of heart shown in this film. Trailers promise an immature and irreverent comedy, and yet don’t hint at the sweet side shown as Dennis struggles to overcome his immaturity and take those first steps toward growing up. Pegg has a wonderful chemistry with Newton, and Schwimmer is able to capably shift between raucous comedy and tender romantic moments. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself rooting for Dennis in the end; Pegg so endears the character to the audience that the climactic marathon actually delivers some stirring drama mixed in with the humor.

As comedies go, “Run, Fat Boy Run” isn’t perfect. The humor sometimes goes for stupid slapstick laughs instead of trusting the actors to deliver something truer. And there’s an unnecessary twist involving Whit that reeks of contrivance and turns the character from a worthy foil for Dennis into a cardboard villain. I’m not sure Schwimmer is confident enough as a director yet, although his work here is by no means bad; I just wish he would trust his characters a bit more. Grade: B

Chris Williams is a Source Staff Writer and a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society. He can be reached at Chris.Williams@advisorsource.com