Ben Campbell’s “gifted mind” is what he blames for getting him into this mess. This mess being that Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is an MIT grad vying for a major scholarship into Harvard Medical school. He’s got the brains, he’s got the grades but he doesn’t have the money and he thinks he’s hit a dead end. Enter Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) his Math Professor who recognizes that Campbell understands variable change and percentages. But more than that, Campbell understands simple math without every utilizing his emotions to problem solve. And that is what’s going to make him a winner. Now he’s studying black jack with five other students in a fake “Math club” that includes Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth). And then they get to Vegas – on top of their game – until a casino security guy (Laurence Fishburne) is out to destroy them. And so the movie, as smart as the MIT students it depicts, weaves and plays right to the very end of the movie. It outsmarts us every step of the way just like a guy holding the good hand. And isn’t that what gambling is all about? Three and a half tiaras
