Jack Abramoff was one of the most successful political Lobbyists in Washington. He was also a brazen swindler and an egotistical crook who was illegally bank-rolling seemingly half the Republican Party (and a few Democrats too) ostensibly to further his Client’s ‘causes’, but in reality the money he stole from all of them primarily lined his own pockets. When the scandal broke in 2005 it seemed to have the potential of being another Watergate, but as we know too well now no amount of dirt every stuck to George W’s Administration, it simply slid of their backs.
Last year Alex Gibney, an Oscar Winning Director, brought out his Documentary ‘Casino Jack and The United States of Money.’ (also reviewed in this blog), which stunned me into almost total silence when faced with the reality of the sheer audacity of Mr. Abramoff and the complicity of so many politicians. This new movie is a fictionalized account of the same story which had the opposite effect on me as Kevin Spacey‘s portrayal of this larger than life crook gave him humor, warmth and even some morals as a consummate family man and Observant Jew who did so much charity work. Hard to believe, but the way the story plays out here, you actually (almost) like the guy.
R.T.V. As a piece of fiction this is rather a good movie thanks mainly to Mr. Spacey and a script that gives him a couple of great set pieces to rant and rave, and also to a very talented supporting cast. If you can forget all the havoc and harm that Mr. Abramoff caused, then go see this one, after all its good to escape reality once in a while.
P.S. Mr. Abramoff has served his meager prison sentence and was last spotted working in a Kosher Pizzeria in Baltimore (totally true story) … lets hope they kept him away from the Cash Register. And Mr. DeLay the ex Congressmen who benefited most from Abramoff’s largess has just been sentenced for 3 years in prison for other dodgy dealings.
Labels: 2010, drama, dramatized
