Casino Jack And The United States Of Money (2010)

84% of critics liked it
(63 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(684 ratings)

Lobbyists have long played a powerful role in American politics, but it wasn't until Jack Abramoff became the center of a 2006 corruption scandal with ties to leading members of Congress (and even the White House) that many became aware of just how deep and pernicious their influence truly was. The… More Lobbyists have long played a powerful role in American politics, but it wasn't until Jack Abramoff became the center of a 2006 corruption scandal with ties to leading members of Congress (and even the White House) that many became aware of just how deep and pernicious their influence truly was. The son of a wealthy businessman, Abramoff became a Republican activist in college, involved in programs to raise funds for GOP candidates and supporting political movements in Angola and South Africa that he believed promoted a free-market ideology. In 2001, Abramoff took control of a profitable gaming empire after the murder of casino owner Gus Boulis, while also operating a lobbying business that curried political favor among Republican politicians through money and expensive gifts (one of his leading allies was GOP party whip Tom DeLay). However, when Abramoff was discovered to have defrauded a number of Native American groups hoping to open gambling casinos with promises of political favors that could be obtained for the right price, his empire came crashing to the ground, taking a number of important reputations along with it. Filmmaker Alex Gibney chronicles the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff and the often bizarre story of how his political and financial ambitions took root in the documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money, which includes interviews with a number of his associates and rare newsreel footage of his early years as a political gadfly. Casino Jack and the United States of Money was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr.
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: May 7, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Sep 14, 2010
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Robert Koehler, Variety
Auds will feel info-glut over the course of the two-hour-plus film, which is hardly the desirable response for a piece of reporting on the vital issue of the corrupting effect of money in American politics.
Ian Buckwalter, NPR
The narrative trots all over the globe, including stops for labor exploitation in the Marianas Islands, dealings with Russian mobsters,ripping off Indian tribes in the desert southwest, and jetting to Scotland to golf with impressionable politicians.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
That the film is overlong ultimately testifies to its importance, though after a while, the outrageous details start to run together like surreal satire. Except, of course, that it's all true.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Buying votes in Congress, illegal then, legal now.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Dully tells the blood-boiling story of the convicted disgraced conservative superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews
A filthy toad of a human being whose every wart is revealed in this hard-hitting documentary.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A morose but instructive story about the destructive influence of money--and fanaticism--on American government.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Thomas J

A really good documentary showing just how corrupt the U.S. political system is - lobbyist are the legislators and money are the constituents.
Nate Z

Alex Gibney is a masterful documentary filmmaker, having crafted Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side. His latest doc chronicling the rise and fall of corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff is insightful, clear-eyed, and entertaining like his other… More
Alex Gibney is a masterful documentary filmmaker, having crafted Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and the Oscar-winning Taxi to the Dark Side. His latest doc chronicling the rise and fall of corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff is insightful, clear-eyed, and entertaining like his other work, but something?s missing here and it?s hard to put my finger on it. Gibney?s doc lacks the fire and outrage of his previous exposes, so Casino Jack doesn?t hold your attention as strong. It focuses closely on Abramoff?s scandals and his influence peddling and gives shrift coverage to bigger issues about our government being for sale to the highest bidder. The lack of attention to a bigger picture hurts the movie?s power. But ultimately I think what makes Casino Jack lacking is that it is missing one very key participant ? Abramoff. Gibney interviewed the man several times in prison but Abramoff declined to be involved after pressure from federal prosecutors. By all accounts, Abramoff is a charismatic, larger-than-life figure, whose Reagan era College Republican idealism transforms into greed and out-of-control hubris (Abramoff foolishly wrote every single thought down in e-mail). His absence is noticeable and blunts the storytelling angles the film can take. With Abramoff?s side, there could be much more insight and dirt. Casino Jack is a solid viewing but not up to snuff for Gibney. Wait for the Kevin Spacey film later this year. Nate's Grade: B
Walter M

"Casino Jack and the United States of Money" is an insightful, yet occasionally frustrating documentary about the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff, superlobbyist, able to sidestep regulations in a single bound but who would eventually be taken down by his own type of… More
"Casino Jack and the United States of Money" is an insightful, yet occasionally frustrating documentary about the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff, superlobbyist, able to sidestep regulations in a single bound but who would eventually be taken down by his own type of kryptonite. A lot of the frustration comes from the movie's first half, detailing Abramoff's ideological origins with campus Republicans. Whereas it might be necessary to say how fond they were of spy pulp novels and Indiana Jones(John Kennedy was also fond of spy novels and look where that got us in Vietnam), too much time is spent on these quirky details with footagle of Tom Delay on "Dancing with the Stars" playing over the end credits. Correct me if I'm wrong but future generations are going to think Abramoff committed worse crimes than casting Dolph Lundgren in a movie. Actually, his crimes really are not that interesting, compared to the ripple effects as the documentary makes an intelligent case for regulation(I think I have read about the labor situation in the Northern Mariana Islands elsewhere...), public funding of elections and continued existence of newspapers as the Washington Post again follows the money. And I do suppose that one can think of Indian casinos as giving money back to an otherwise impoverished people or cynically as revenge for crimes committed previously by the white man. Even with Abramoff going to jail in the end, I do not have a lot of optimism for the system, no matter who is in charge.
Jeff T

Alex Gibney, the incredibly talented documentarian behind ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM brings his gifts (too much) to the fore in telling of the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff. Lots of information, some of it truly shocking (and some sadly not) is brought to you in many of… More
Alex Gibney, the incredibly talented documentarian behind ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM brings his gifts (too much) to the fore in telling of the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff. Lots of information, some of it truly shocking (and some sadly not) is brought to you in many of the same vaudevillian ways as in the former film, but to less effect here. It's a really good documentary, but Gibney's obvious distaste for Mr. Abramoff keeps it from being a great one. I have no pity for Abramoff, but Gibney's clear bias makes it hard to get completely on board; the whole thing plays like a strong, in-depth, tarted up 60 MINUTES segment. Important viewing, absolutely. Required viewing, not so much.
Jeffrey M

A fascinating look at Jack Abramoff, who serves as a microcosm of the larger issues in Washington. Perhaps a little preachy and slanted toward the end, it's still a largely entertaining and insightful look at an amazing story. Highly recommended for those who liked the… More
A fascinating look at Jack Abramoff, who serves as a microcosm of the larger issues in Washington. Perhaps a little preachy and slanted toward the end, it's still a largely entertaining and insightful look at an amazing story. Highly recommended for those who liked the fictionalized Kevin Spacey movie of the same name.
Alec B

Its not a terribly surprising film, but still infuriating. The part of the story about a sweatshop in Saipan will make anyone, regardless or their poltical affiliations, absolutely furious. If you're cool with it, you're probably a member of Congress.