CASINO
A film review by Sheena Stewart
Copyright 1995 Sheena Stewart
***CASINO doesn't play with a full deck***
Cineplex Odeon Daily
There are two things in life I am fairly certain about (actually, there are plenty more but only two are relevant to this review).
One, as a choice of vacation destinations, Las Vegas ranks just slightly behind Rwanda and Bosnia. Two, if Sharon Stone hadn't given us a gynaecologist eye view of her assets in BASIC INSTINCT, she'd probably have gone the Tawny Kitaen route of low-budget bit parts. After seeing the latest movie featuring both Las Vegas and Stone, neither of those beliefs has changed.
Up front I admit I'm probably not the best person to review a Mafia movie. Truth is, other than THE GODFATHER (only parts I and II), I'd never really enjoyed a mob movie.
And even though Martin Scorsese has emphatically stressed his latest movie CASINO is not a mafia movie, it most definitely is.
Not to say that CASINO is a bad movie it's actually quite good. Not surprising when you bring together a cast that includes Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, James Woods and Kevin Pollack. Each bring unique perspectives to their roles. Unfortunately, what they're given to work with is what trips the movie up.
- One-time hustler -
De Niro is Ace, a one-time hustler who's worked his way up through the ranks to become the frontman for the mob's Vegas operation. Pesci is Nicky Santaro, Ace's buddy and mob hitman. It's his job to wrap up loose ends and in Vegas 1973 there is plenty to keep him busy.
Then there's Stone as Ginger McKenna. Under the guidance of her boyfriend/pimp, played by Woods, Ginger hustles her way through the Vegas scene before hooking up with Ace. Once married to Ace, Ginger begins a steady descent into pills and booze parallels the fall of the mob's control of Vegas.
It's here where the movie unravels. Although Stone is undoubtedly better than she has ever been, she's still not very good. No matter how hard she tries she just seems out of synch with the likes of De Niro. In the end it's hard to ever really get into the story because her presence distracts you from whatever else is going on. Too bad, because this might have been the one that convinced me mob movies aren't all so bad.
-- Sheena Stewart <http://www.ccinet.ab.ca/vue>
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