Two for the Money (2005)
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A former football star finds success in the high-stakes world of sports gambling before the pressure of the game begins to unravel his life.
The story
Brandon Lang, a former college football star with a career-ending knee injury, begins working as a football handicapper in Las Vegas to support his family. His talent catches the eye of Walter Abrams, head of a major sports consulting operation in the United States. Walter offers Brandon a job in New York, where Brandon is transformed into a television persona named John Anthony. Using his extensive knowledge of the game, Brandon generates significant profits and attracts high-profile clients, quickly making a substantial amount of money while developing a close relationship with Walter and his wife, Toni.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Brandon Lang, a former college football star, begins handicapping games in Las Vegas before being recruited by Walter Abrams to a New York sports consulting firm. Walter creates a persona for Brandon called John Anthony, featuring him on a cable TV show. While Brandon becomes successful and wealthy, he also becomes close with Walter and his wife, Toni. However, tensions rise when Brandon's success attracts a wealthy gambler, C.M. Novian, who places $20 million in bets. When Walter refuses to share the profits, Brandon discovers that a woman he spent the night with was a prostitute paid for by Walter. As Brandon's performance declines, he is assaulted by Novian for losing $30 million. Meanwhile, Walter, a recovering gambling addict, falls into deep debt using Brandon's picks. The bond between them deteriorates as Walter becomes erratic and suspects Brandon of an affair with Toni. Brandon eventually decides to leave New York after making one final, coin-flip prediction. He boards a flight just before the final game concludes, where his pick proves correct. The film ends with Walter and Toni reconciling and Brandon coaching a junior league football team.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 122
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- D.J. Caruso
- Writers
- Dan Gilroy · writer
- Cast and characters
- Al Pacino · Walter Abrams; Matthew McConaughey · Brandon Lang / John Anthony; Rene Russo · Toni Abrams; Armand Assante · C.M. Novian; Jeremy Piven · Jerry Sykes; Carly Pope · Tammy; Jaime King · Alexandria; Ralph Garman · Reggie
- Genres
- sports drama; crime drama
- Themes
- Sports gambling; Addiction; Ambition; Betrayal
- Tone and mood
- Dramatic; Serious
- Premise and plot tags
- Sports Betting; Crime Drama; Gambling; Sports Drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Loosely based upon an employee at Stu Feiner's handicapping business
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, with a consensus that its aimless plot was not worth betting on. It received mixed to average scores on Metacritic and a B+ from CinemaScore audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 22% · review count: 109; Cinafilm · score: 48% · review count: 507
- Production trivia
- It is the first Morgan Creek movie distributed by Universal Pictures since Coupe de Ville in 1990.; It is the last film released by Morgan Creek Productions to receive a VHS release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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