Walter Abrams (A1 Pacino), owner of a gambling advising company said, “Sports betting is a $200 billion industry a year, yet it is illegal in 49 states.” This is one of his lines while pitching Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) a job offer to his illustrious firm. “We are selling certainty in an uncertain time,” Abrams continues.

Lang, a former football star with a knee injury that retired him, attracts Abrams when he correctly predicts wins for several football games in one weekend. Abrams recruits Lang from Las Vegas to join him in New York. Lang is then lavished with a new image, money, a sports car, $1000 suits, women and even a new name, which becomes John Anthony. At the top of his game, his winning streak ranges from 80 percent to even 100 percent. He becomes “The Million Dollar Man”. But as the saying goes, “Everybody’s good luck streak has to end sometime.”

“Two for the Money” reminds me a lot of “Boiler Room,” where young men were shaped into hardcore salesmen. They’re not selling stock, but are selling themselves, an idea and a dream. Same goes for Abrams and his gambling advising firm. They convince their clients why they should bet on teams through their sales pitch.

Abrams and Lang’s father/son and mentor/protégée relationship is the second best aspect of the film. Abrams suffers mild heart attacks and his marriage is constantly on the rocks. But for him to mold Lang into a younger version of himself, is in a way, making Lang walk the plank, but Abrams doesn’t care.

The best aspect of the film is Pacino’s performance; it makes this film worth seeing. He grinds up any role and makes it his own, as if the screenwriter was writing it specifically for him. I dare you to name one bad Pacino role, you can’t because it doesn’t exist. His performance definitely makes the movie