Brandon Lang is a former college football star whose uncanny ability to predict the outcome of sporting events introduces him to an unexpected new career. When his gridiron prospects are sidelined by a crushing injury, Brandon's talent makes him a prime candidate for recruitment by Walter Abraham, the head of one of the biggest sports bookie operations in the country. Walter hires the small town ex-athlete and grooms him into a shrewd front man. Brandon soon begins to enjoy his status as a Manhattan golden boy and finds himself growing comfortable with Walter's high-rolling lifestyle. The surrogate father/surrogate son relationship is a boon for both men, until Brandon's golden touch begins to falter. and Pacino's patented larger-than-life, prone to sudden and scorching outbursts of insanity persona rears it's predictible head. With millions of dollars on the line, Brandon and Walter engage in a deadly game of con versus con, each one trying to maintain the upper hand while everyone in their world, including Walter's wife, Toni, are drawn into the escalating madness.

I can't put my finger on exactly what I didn't like about Two for the Money, because my finger isn't big enough. For one, you never become emotionally invested into the characters. Neither really come across as likable - let alone noble. And the anti-hero dynamic that you expect from watching the trailers never pans out at all. You're lead to believe that these are the kind of characters that you can't resist - in that familiar "love to hate" kind of way, but it never materializes at all - which leaves you with two pretty hollow mains who spend the entire movie testing each others mettle and then high-fiving. Just about everyone in the film comes off as a glib and cockyalpha male, hell-bent on proving their dominance over the weak losers of the world. And Pacino's character, while at the very least interesting, can rightfully be poked fun at. Still you never feel any particular antithapy for him, because you don't really regard McConaughey as the likable underdog. They're both shallow characitures lacking in redeemable qualities - which leaves the audience groping for a rallying point.

True there's plenty of conflict and tension, but it's all just bluster if there isn't a side to take. You need to be able to root for someone to win - particularly when you begin to sense that the losers are the people sitting beside you who paid ten bucks to get in.

Inevitably we get the all too predictable character resolutions, but it all comes so fast and pat, that it's just too little too late. Two For The Money is sort of a male version of a chick flick, but when that male-bonding pat on the back moment finally takes place you're already been checking your wristwatch and thinking about what you're going to do after the movie.

So where does Rene Russo fit into all of this? She really doesn't and that's the problem. She is like that third wheel that always keeps the cart off balance, but her character suffers from likability issues of her own. She certainly doesn't turn anything more than a mediocre performance. So do yourself a favor, hedge your bet and wait for video.

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