Casino Jack (released in certain territories as Bagman) is a 2010 biographicalcrime drama directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C., lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two White House officials, Rep.Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion in 2006,[5] and of trading expensive gifts, meals and vacations for political favors.[6][7]
Abramoff served three and a half years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a halfway house. He was released on December 3, 2010.
This was Hickenlooper's final film, as he died on October 29, 2010, seven weeks before its release.[10]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 39% of 97 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Kevin Spacey turns in one of his stronger performances, but Casino Jack is a disappointingly uneven fictionalized account of a fascinating true story."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[12]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating that "Casino Jack is so forthright, it is stunning."[13]
