"21" Takes Its Plot from the Book "Bringing Down the House"

The film "21" purports to be a true story, but the word "true" is Hollywood's version of the truth. I saw this film last April in the U.S. It had just come out in the cinemas in Seattle, where I happened to be visiting my son. I had read about the MIT Blackjack team about two years before, and, knowing that my son was a blackjack lover, I gave him a brief rundown of the Team and suggested that we see the film.

Hollywood Spiced-Up the MIT Blackjack Team

I do not like violent and thriller-type films and generally avoid them. The story of the MIT Blackjack Team is interesting but, obviously, too tame for Hollywood. Therefore, the screen writer invents a hero, introduces love and romance, and also some quite frightening excitement involving casino spies and security men. However, as the above reviewer has stated, the film filled with "romance, sob stories, back-stabbing and geeks gone wild" will find favor with most viewers. I know that my son really enjoyed it. Just the idea that millions could be won at casinos with a mathematical system of card counting filled him with amazement. The original MIT Blackjack Team began their activities in 1979 in casinos in Atlantic City where card counting was not illegal. They raked up quite a profit, but then seemed to lose their "magic" due to a lot of internal arguing about the mathematical formulas. It was at least a year later that a team was formed with a Mr. Kaplan, who is evidently the professor in the film "21", who turned the team into a business and took them to Las Vegas.

"21" is Worth a Viewing

The whole story of the MIT Blackjack Team is very entertaining. It was first told in the documentary "Breaking Vegas" and also on an episode of the Game Show Network documentary series called "Anything to Win". Then the book "Bringing Down the House" by Ben Mezrich told of the teams further activities. The book became a New York Times bestseller which is undoubtedly why Hollywood took it over to make the movie. Despite the fact that it does not keep to the true story and also involves some violence, I did enjoy the film. I found the acting excellent and the pace very fast.