by Larry Richman
March 13, 2008 5:58 PM

21 was the official Opening Night Film of the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. The film is based on the true story of a group of MIT students who use their math skills to "beat the house" at blackjack in the Las Vegas casinos. Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) directed the Peter Steinfeld and Allan Loeb adaptation of Ben Mezrich's bestselling book Bringing Down the House.

21 is pure Hollywood all the way -- slick and polished, like the wardrobes and personalities inhabited by the kids in their transformation to high rollers. The tight ensemble cast includes Kate Bosworth and Jacob Pitts as team players and Laurence Fishburne as a security chief with a massive dilemma on his hands. But the show belongs to Kevin Spacey as professor Mickey Rosa, mastermind behind the escapade, and Jim Sturgess as Ben Campbell, the reluctant recruit who drives the film as it barrels headlong to a breathless climax.

The script is clever, funny, and worthy of math geeks everywhere, and the widescreen action is as nonstop as that on the casino floor. Spacey is Spacey at his best -- just the Kevin we know, nothing more, nothing less -- and that's good enough. Sturgess, a Brit playing an American here (quite well, by the way), proves that he is destined for stardom in the States.

In the intro to the screening, Luketic explained how Spacey had bought the rights to Mezrich's book, leading to his having to fight to win the actor over and let him direct the film. Memo to Kevin: thank you. And, whatever you do, wait for the end credits. The stunning remix of the Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want is almost worth the price of admission.

Ooh ... just knowing the story it's based on has me intrigued, I may have to find opportunity to watch that one when I get a chance.