I had a great time at 21 years old. The plot was nice, the undertones of college life were fun, and you can even find a love story in it. Using a scholarship essay made my day as I usually write about student loans, scholarships, and grants – the icing on the cake.
Basics: who and what
21 stars Jim Sturgess as MIT student Ben Campbell, a math whiz who plans to go to Harvard Medical School. The movie takes place in his senior year at MIT. He has all A’s and works in a men’s clothing store for $ 8 an hour. Why a math genius wants to be a doctor, I don’t know, except that doctors make a penny and he knows it.
Ben applies for the prestigious Robinson Scholarship, which will pay for all of his expenses for Harvard, a total of about $ 300,000. Serious cash. While discussing his grades with a scholarship representative, Ben finds out what he’s up against. The scholarship went to a one-legged immigrant last year. He worries that he doesn’t have what it takes and starts looking for other ways to earn money.
At this point, we meet Kevin Spacey as the skilled professor Micky Rosa and Kate Bosworth as the cute MIT student and blackjack observer Jill Taylor. With the help of other team members, they recruit Ben and promise him a lot of money.
Count cards instead of a scholarship
Ben is inclined to the simple art of card counting and team rules. Actually, the movie teaches card counting pretty well, not that I bet. The truth is, you have to keep track of the decks, use multiple spotters counting multiple tables to find a hot deck, and so on. It can take months to get right at this, and casinos see it in real life. It is not the best way to earn money for college, but I am sure it is attractive to some people.
I won’t ruin your story, check it out, you might like it. 21 entertained me, which is all I ask of a good movie. The varsity card counting team lives up to the task while in Las Vegas. Ben and Jill find some time to have a relationship. Aaaah, it’s not that sweet …
21 is based on Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down The House about a 1993 MIT blackjack team, but the movie gets a modern spin. I saw the short version on Discovery Channel (I think) about 4 years ago. They made huge amounts of money, but probably not as much as in the movie. And they closed them by winning too much at too many casinos.
Card counting, as far as I know, is not illegal, just against casino rules. The real life team had to shut down because all the casinos knew about them, and they played at many casinos, not just one.
Remember, this is a movie. You’ll find some nice twists and a non-linear narrative. I don’t recommend earning money for college like this, but the scholarship essay adds up at the end. Go see it.
