The star power one possesses when able to disappear for a few years and come back with a vengeance is limited to a few number of performers. Justin Timberlake is one of those few; his ability to go off the celebrity radar and come back in both the music and film worlds is arguably unparalleled. Music may be his bigger strength, but that doesn’t stop him from attempting to establish more street cred in films targeted at adolescents and the rest of Generation Y.
Richie (Timberlake) yearns for his own little bit of cred, and earns it as an affiliate for an online poker website. He’s accused of promoting gambling at the prestigious Princeton University, and in anger blows all his savings on the danger that he calls employment. But being a smart guy, he concludes he’s been cheated, flies to Costa Rica to confront Ivan (Ben Affleck) – and ends up getting a job with his company.
Young, dumb and foolish is how most would view Richie in that situation. His friend thinks it’s a stupid idea, as you do watching. Of course for Richie, it pays off, and he’s welcomed into a life of extravagance. But eventually, corruption creeps its way in, unsettling Richie and rendering him unsure of the role Ivan’s assistant Rebecca (Gemma Arterton) has to play.
Like many films before it, a story of chance portrays the theory that for some, life is not worth living unless you can risk it all. Those who are daring can have nothing or everything, but they want to feel the extremity of their decision. Richie, and his friends who accompany him, are just as susceptible, and for some it doesn’t pay off.
A relatively new director to the Hollywood circuit, Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) plays on the increasing popularity of online gaming. His opening scene, a montage showing news reports on the so-called phenomenon, documents what is becoming a global concern as people’s greed prospers on the attitudes of Generation Y. The film doesn’t ever take itself that seriously but in many ways it attempts to, with a sly dog in Ivan and the glamorization of the bubble they call their world. Richie’s world of university study is long left behind in favor of beautiful people and plenty of money. Furman wastes no opportunity to show the good side to living large, but that comes at the expense of a more riveting plot.
For its short (91 minute) running time, a lot is packed into the story. Little things that don’t add up or aren’t given enough time to be explained become an annoyance though, and characters introduced throughout the film are hardly given a reason for their actions. Regular collaborators Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean’s Thirteen) offer up a screenplay that focuses on Richie, Ivan and Rebecca – the three major players. In doing so, they leave a lot of potential action behind to present more of a talker. And what you get out of that is all relative to your preferences.
The main trio are an interesting mix; while Arterton is given maximum opportunity to look beautiful (and succeeds), the boys don’t scrub up as nice – in character. Affleck is smarmy as Ivan, a businessman who reveals his playing cards one by one to reveal the cracks in his enterprise he thinks Richie can fix. Timberlake gives off a sense of impressionability as the central character, that young and foolish kid. His demeanor still assists that, but Timberlake is learning his way to bigger things.
Furman manages to present a feature that keeps you on your toes, but without as much substance or suaveness as other films of its ilk.
