'21' Math Tricks Keep Audience in the Know

By Connect Mason Reporter Emily Culley

High stakes, fake IDs, wigs, disguises, accents, Vegas and a few nerdy math jokes, "21" offers all aspects to make it a must-see.

• Watch the '21' trailer here.

"21" is based on the bestselling book "Bringing Down the House," a true story of five students who took Vegas on a run for its money, by Ben Mezrich. Kate Bosworth’s character, Jill Taylor, is created in the shadow of real-life math whiz Jane Willis, who has said that many aspects of the movie have been fictionalized and exaggerated for the sake of Hollywood. Yet the math is accurate.

The story is fast-paced and all over the continent. One minute, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess is a lowly college senior struggling to find the $300,000 needed to enroll in med school. He rides his bike to scholarship interviews, only to learn that he has nothing that sets him apart from the other candidates.

The next minute, he is answering tough questions and pleasing his professor. Desperate for money and a way to “become anyone you want,” Ben agrees to join a his professor's card-counting team — but only until he has enough money for med school. Before Ben knows it he is wrapped intricately into the Vegas world of card counting. The longer he stays in Vegas, the more he participates out of desire rather than necessity.

Overall, the film was witty, enjoyable, and kept the “simple math” audience in the know with tips and the hints to remind non-card counters of the cues and code words. B-