Around the water cooler

No one knows debt more than a recent law school graduate. If you didn’t earn a free ride to law school, chances are you have student loans that must be paid off. If you’ve been practicing for some time, then those loans are a distant memory — but still a memory that is ingrained in your mind.

You, especially, will appreciate the predicament that the lead character, Ben Campbell, of the soon-to-be-released movie, “21,” experiences. 

Campbell, an MIT student, must decide whether to join a team of other MIT students who count cards at Blackjack tables in Las Vegas. At first he resists the invitation, but in the end he needs the money to pay for Harvard Medical School. He’s already been accepted, but doesn’t have the $300,000 he needs to pay the expenses.

So he joins the team and proceeds to learn an intricate series of word and visual codes that help the team count cards at Blackjack, and essentially beat the house. Their keen intelligence with numbers help them master the counting system. And they create a “business” that makes them a lot of money, and allows them to be the cooler, hipper versions of themselves. While counting cards is not technically illegal, according to the movie, the casinos do not welcome these practices at their tables.

The movie, which comes out March 28 in theaters, is based on the book, “Bringing Down the House” by Ben Mezrich. And the book is based on the the true-life story of six MIT students who made a lot of money at the Blackjack tables. At a recent screening, the man who the story is based on, Jeff Ma, and actor Jim Sturgess, who played Ma in the movie, answered questions from the audience.

When asked if he would join the card-counting team again if he had to do it all over, Jeff Ma said he definitely would, because of the money, the book, the movie, and, of course, the overall experience. One audience member asked Ma if he minded that the actor who portrays him in the movie is not Asian. But he said he really cared more about the actor being talented than his ethnicity or race.

 Actor Jim Sturgess said one of the challenges of making the movie was turning his English accent into an American accent. But he enjoyed working with Kevin Spacey, who plays Mickey Rosa, the teacher who organizes this card-counting team. He said he tried to watch Spacey and learn from him.

I recommend the movie if you are looking for an entertaining flick, something that will keep your interest and allow you to live vicariously through the characters as they enjoy the high life in Vegas. The movie offers suspense, and will have you cheering for the students. Who would have thought that a movie about six brainiac college students could be so entertaining?

The movie also poses an interesting ethical debate. Would you do something like this if it meant that your education was paid for?