Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.5 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio | | 4.0 |
| Extras |  | 3.0 |
| Overall | | 3.5 |
Two for the Money Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson July 2, 2022
From Scent of a Woman (1992) through Two for the Money (2005), Al Pacino played mostly fatherly mentors to a young adult protégé. Pacino's natural acting abilities allowed him to play these roles quite well, even though there wasn't a lot of variation from one performance to the next. In director D.J. Caruso's (The Salton Sea) fourth feature, Two for the Money, Pacino portrays Walter Abrams, the CEO of a New York-based sports betting service. Walter essentially recruits Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) away from a Las Vegas 900-number phone service that supplies weekly betting tips. Brandon has developed a stellar record for accurately and consistently predicting professional football games. This is a second career for Brandon, a star collegiate quarterback whose hopes of playing at the next level were literally squashed when he got injured in a bowl game. (One of the earlier cuts of the film devoted a longer section to Brandon's rehab and attempted comeback. See the deleted scenes.)
Caruso and screenwriter Dan Gilroy deliver a critique of similar social classes Brandon and Walter come from and how Brandon seized on opportunities for upward mobility. For example, during a monologue at an AA meeting, Walter reveals that he's an ex-alcoholic bartender. (It isn't explained how he rose to the top of his present occupation, however.) Brandon also apparently hails from a lower-middle class background and seems the type to hang around bars. There's a scene where Brandon, Walter, and the latter's wife, Toni (Rene Russo) traverse the streets of downtown Brooklyn. Walter openly recalls his difficult childhood. Brandon also had it hard throughout his formative years as he's estranged from his dad. Brandon and Walter had at least somewhat similar upbringings. It's this connection that bonds the two together with Walter adopting Brandon as his surrogate son. (He also has a six-year-old daughter.) Walter cajoles Brandon to trade his casual apparel for expensive suits. Gilroy wrote a great line for Pacino, who muses about molding Brandon into a transcendent and cosmic genius since he can correctly prognosticate the outcome of ballgames. Walter gives Brandon the screen name of John Anthony before he appears on Walter's weekly TV show, Sports Advisors. He helps transform Brandon into an odds-making superstar on the tube where he usurps Walter's top handicapper, Jerry (Jeremy Piven).
Three's company.
The characters and structure of
Two for the Money owe a lot to
Wall Street (1987). I'd argue that Gilroy based Walter Abrams off Gordon Gekko and Brandon Lang off Bud Fox. Both films are about power-playing money worlds. Gilroy also seems strongly influenced by a scene in the Oliver Stone movie where Gordon confronts Bud in Central Park. Brandon is riding his bicycle along a similar New York park where he's suddenly ambushed by billionaire Novian (Armand Assante) and his bodyguard (Brad Kelly). The two scenes unfold in similar ways. Caruso and Gilroy could have made something more out of the romance between Brandon and Alexandria (Jaime King). While it's basically prearranged by Walter, Brandon could use a girlfriend since he has no friends outside of work. By contrast, Stone does more with Daryl Hannah's Darien Taylor in
Wall Street than Caruso and Gilroy muster with Alexandria. Unlike Stone's film,
Two for the Money sometimes suffers from pacing issues where not enough happens or a theme repeats itself. Still,
Two for the Money is worth seeing for the solid performances delivered by Pacino, Russo, and McConaughey.
Notables: Rene Russo told the
New York Times' Ian Spelling that the picture took seven years to get off the ground. It was produced at a modest budget.
The Windsor Star reported that the Vancouver production cost $20 million to make.
Two for the Money Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Two for the Money has been available on Blu-ray around Europe courtesy of Universal (who apparently own worldwide sales) since 2010. It's highly likely that Shout Select's presentation is sourced from that same 2K master. The film appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 46.02 GB). The picture is clear and sharp. I only spotted occasional tiny white specks. Edge enhancement purportedly present on the DVD transfer is absent here. Caruso and Gilroy observe on the commentary track that within Walter's office, early scenes have a butterscotch brown look (see Screenshot #15) while later scenes exhibit a cool blue (see frame grab #19 of Brandon, whose sitting in one of Walter's offices). The Las Vegas office scenes assume a pale green tint (see frame enlargement #s 12 and 13). Shout encodes the movie at a mean video bitrate of 34000 kbps.
Shout has included twelve chapters for the 122-minute feature.
Two for the Money Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Shout has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (2776 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo downmix (2117 kbps, 24-bit). I listened to both mixes and unequivocally endorse the 5.1 track. Not only is dialogue clear and distinct along the fronts, but the surrounds make effective use of traffic noise and Christophe Beck's bouncy score, which I'd like to see receive an album release.
Shout delivers optional English SDH, which provide an accurate transcription of the spoken words.
Two for the Money Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Shout has transferred all of the extras from Universal's 2006 DVD-9 to its BD-50.
- Audio Commentary with Director D.J. Caruso and Screenwriter Dan Gilroy - an above-average, feature-length chat between Caruso and Gilroy that's often amusing and informative. The director and writer discuss the real Brandon that inspired the film, developing the screenplay, casting, and challenges they faced during the production. In English, not subtitled.
- The Making of Two for the Money (11:22, upconverted to 1080i) - Interviewed are Caruso, Gilroy, and sports handicapper Brandon Link. We also hear from actors Matthew McConaughey, Al Pacino, Jeremy Piven, and Rene Russo. The featurette mixes talking heads with clips from the movie and B-roll footage. In English, not subtitled.
- Insider Interview: The Real Brandon (16:16, upconverted 1080i) - a conservation between Brandon Link (the real Brandon) and writer Dan Gilroy. Link shares several of his experiences working at a sports-betting advising agency. In English, not subtitled.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary with D.J. Caruso or Dan Gilroy (6:59, upconverted 1080i) - eight scenes omitted from the final cut. They're presented in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen with a burnt-in timecode at the bottom black bar (but not over the image). The scenes cover Brandon's estranged relationship with his father, the injured quarterback's rehab and recovery, an alternate scene of Walter getting acquainted with Brandon, Brandon and a cab driver, Toni at work, Brandon talking with Novian, and a phone conversation between Brandon and his younger brother. These can be played with or without commentary by Caruso or Gilroy, who can be heard on separate tracks. In English, not subtitled.
- Theatrical Trailer (2:32, upconverted 1080i) - Universal's official trailer for Two for the Money presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (256 kbps). While upscaled from an interlaced source, the trailer displays a relatively clear and sharp image.
- TV Spots (3:29, upconverted 1080i) - seven TV spots promoting Two for the Money that networks ran circa September-October 2005. They appear in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture exhibits some aliasing as well as ringing.
Two for the Money Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Pacino gives Walter Abrams his customary gusto and makes him a charismatic peddler who woos McConaughey's Brandon Lang to partake in a $200 billion gambling industry. There are really two sides to Rene Russo's Toni and she excels at displaying each. McConaughey shows better range here than in the romantic comedies he occasionally starred in throughout the 2000s. (He matured into a superior actor in the decade following this one.) I didn't feel that Two for the Money showed nearly enough insight into the tricks of the trade. Gilroy has certainly become a better screenwriter since 2005 and has become an established director, too. Shout Select's video encode is very good, even though the 2K transfer dates from the early 2010s. Bonus materials duplicate the most of the DVD and BD editions. The only EPK materials missing here are twenty-two minutes of cast and crew interviews and B-roll footage, which Dutch Filmworks included on their DVD and BD releases. Shout Select's package earns A PRETTY SOLID RECOMMENDATION.
