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21

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type
TVTItem
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label
21
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TwentyOne
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comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story, namely the book Bringing Down the House, this 2008 movie is about a bunch of MIT students (played by Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, and Jacob Pitts) who go to Las Vegas and make a lot of money via card counting.Features supporting turns from Kevin Spacey as their math professor, whose approach to things is WRONG and Laurence Fishburne as a casino security officer.Named after the casino Card Game blackjack. Not to be confused with Game Show 21, the album by Adele, or 21 Jump Street.
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fetched
2023-06-22T04:43:48Z
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parsed
2023-06-22T04:43:48Z
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processingComment
Dropped link to ExerciseExcuse: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
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Exercise Excuse
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isPartOf
DBTropes
 21
sameAs
Fifteen_Twenty-One_Second_Avenue
 21 / int_1606a707
type
Secret Test
 21 / int_1606a707
comment
Secret Test: Ben's first time using the system in a live setting is simply a test to make sure he can correctly keep count even under extreme duress.
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21 / int_1606a707
 21 / int_19fe3478
type
Daddy's Girl
 21 / int_19fe3478
comment
Daddy's Girl: Jill's dad taught her how to play cards since she was nine (although he wasn't as good at it as her) and they'd play for ice cream, with him buying her some regardless of who won.
 21 / int_19fe3478
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1.0
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1.0
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 21 / int_2534ee67
type
In Medias Res
 21 / int_2534ee67
comment
In Medias Res: The film starts with the climactic last game, and then flashes back to tell the story.
 21 / int_2534ee67
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 21 / int_3036294e
type
Scary Black Man
 21 / int_3036294e
comment
Scary Black Man: Laurence Fishburne as the casino's chief of security. He keeps bag full of rings just for punching people in the face!
 21 / int_3036294e
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 21 / int_35e4fe72
type
Fakin' MacGuffin
 21 / int_35e4fe72
comment
Fakin' MacGuffin: With the casino chips in the climax.
 21 / int_35e4fe72
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 21 / int_4159744
type
The Magic Poker Equation
 21 / int_4159744
comment
The Magic Poker Equation: The one time Ben ignores the rules and keeps playing at a low count, he loses everything on the next hand. In reality, counting correctly doesn't guarantee a win, it only ensures you'll win more than you lose on average.
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 21 / int_4bfcfa7c
type
Kansas City Shuffle
 21 / int_4bfcfa7c
comment
Kansas City Shuffle: The entire final run on the casino is a distraction to get Cole chasing Ben and Professor Rosa so they wouldn't notice Ben's friends counting separately. This is fairly unusual for this trope because the "real" con netted substantial less than the fake one would have.
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 21 / int_5e7c0ab7
type
Kleptomaniac Hero
 21 / int_5e7c0ab7
comment
Kleptomaniac Hero: Choi is a loyal enough friend and portrayed sympathetically but he has Sticky Fingers, stealing hotel accessories despite the thousands they are making at the tables.
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 21 / int_60a3f0ba
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Monty Hall Problem
 21 / int_60a3f0ba
comment
Monty Hall Problem: Which the movie gets completely wrong. A student says that it doesn't matter if Monty only offers the switch when you pick the correct door, and the teacher says that's the right answer. In fact, if Monty only offers the switch when you pick the correct door, switching gives you a 100% chance of picking a goat.
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 21 / int_60b4a128
type
The Last DJ
 21 / int_60b4a128
comment
The Last DJ: Cole Williams is a variation. Not so much for the typical interpersonal reasons, but because new computer technology is on the verge of making him obsolete. Various small touches indicate that he is considered behind the times, like his forgetting that he isn't allowed to smoke indoors.
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 21 / int_60d73edb
type
Drink-Based Characterization
 21 / int_60d73edb
comment
Drink-Based Characterization: The team members are told by their coach to order tonic waters with lime, so that the security personnel watching the cameras won't notice that they aren't drinking any alcohol.
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 21 / int_6b3c357e
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Ivy League for Everyone
 21 / int_6b3c357e
comment
Ivy League for Everyone: Justified, considering that they were all members of the same university chosen by a professor at that university.
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 21 / int_7374ab13
type
Once More, with Clarity
 21 / int_7374ab13
comment
Once More, with Clarity!: The film catches back up to the prologue, and this time it is shown mostly without the flashy closeups.
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 21 / int_79e07b47
type
Lecture as Exposition
 21 / int_79e07b47
comment
Lecture as Exposition: Kevin Spacey is playing an MIT professor after all.
 21 / int_79e07b47
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 21 / int_808cbaeb
type
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking
 21 / int_808cbaeb
comment
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: After Ben tells Miles about his crazy experience, all Miles latches on to is that Ben had sex with Jill.
 21 / int_808cbaeb
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1.0
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 21 / int_848153ef
type
Viva Las Vegas!
 21 / int_848153ef
comment
Viva Las Vegas!: In the book and real life they move around a lot, going to every place they can to avoid getting caught.
 21 / int_848153ef
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 21 / int_8a30b162
type
ImprovisedWeaponUser
 21 / int_8a30b162
comment
Improvised Weapon User: Cole's rings, which he keeps around only to use as an ad hoc set of brass knuckles.
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 21 / int_90e31482
type
Laser-Guided Karma
 21 / int_90e31482
comment
Laser-Guided Karma: Professor Rosa, who has stolen money from Cole Williams from card-counting that he got thrown out, as well as pulling the strings on his blackjack team and even keeping Ben from graduating. Rosa has karma finally catch up to him when it turns out he never paid taxes on his winnings, and he is about to get pummeled by the security chief he affected the most.
 21 / int_90e31482
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1.0
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 21 / int_9dfb8296
type
This Is Gonna Suck
 21 / int_9dfb8296
comment
This Is Gonna Suck: Rosa, when he is about to face a brutal beating by Williams. Not like he didn't have it coming though.
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1.0
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 21 / int_a0edf122
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Good with Numbers
 21 / int_a0edf122
comment
Good with Numbers: The entire team, obviously. Ben's Establishing Character Moment is tallying up a customer's (lengthy) order at a clothing store, including knocking off a percentage using his employee discount, and giving the final total, all without needing to use pen and paper or a calculator.
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 21 / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 21 / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: Cole Williams, the casino security chief. He harasses the team, is shown beating people he has caught, and at the end steals millions from the protagonist and completely gets away with it. For the record Ben is a remarkably good sport about it, even hinting that Williams deserves to retire comfortably (something he would never be able to do working for the casino).
 21 / int_a70223
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1.0
 21 / int_a70223
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 21 / int_c2c4aba9
type
Double Caper
 21 / int_c2c4aba9
comment
Double Caper: The end game has multiple layers of card counting, unknown to Rosa.
 21 / int_c2c4aba9
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1.0
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 21 / int_c313d43a
type
True Companions
 21 / int_c313d43a
comment
True Companions: Ultimately Ben, Jill, Kianna and Choi.
 21 / int_c313d43a
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 21 / int_c313d43a
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 21 / int_c6b2fdd1
type
Fixing the Game
 21 / int_c6b2fdd1
comment
Fixing the Game: Averted. This is a film entirely about counting cards, but counting cards is not cheating unless you have a partner helping you.
 21 / int_c6b2fdd1
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-1.0
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 21 / int_cb96fad3
type
11th-Hour Ranger
 21 / int_cb96fad3
comment
11th-Hour Ranger: Ben's friends from before the main story, who help win money counting cards at the end.
 21 / int_cb96fad3
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1.0
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hasFeature
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 21 / int_d7c3ba61
type
Race Lift
 21 / int_d7c3ba61
comment
Race Lift: In both Real Life and the book, most of the team was Asian, but all but two are white in the movie. Never mind the black guy who was there in real life.
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featureApplicability
1.0
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 21 / int_da1c8191
type
Writers Cannot Do Math
 21 / int_da1c8191
comment
Writers Cannot Do Math: The movie screws up the Monty Hall Problem.
 21 / int_da1c8191
featureApplicability
1.0
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 21 / int_e4b69188
type
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
 21 / int_e4b69188
comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Not only the movie, but the book it was based on as well.
 21 / int_e4b69188
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 21 / int_f511ea9b
type
Product Placement
 21 / int_f511ea9b
comment
Product Placement: Bud Light and a couple of other Anheuser-Busch products got some pretty blatant plugs, complete with conveniently-faced bottle labels.
 21 / int_f511ea9b
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1.0
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 21 / int_fa7d3dfe
type
Number Two
 21 / int_fa7d3dfe
comment
Number Two: Terry, Cole's dutiful and only slightly less competent assistant at his security job.
 21 / int_fa7d3dfe
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21

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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hasFeature
Acquired Situational Narcissism / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Bad News, Irrelevant News / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Coitus Ensues / int_7b30e87b
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Double Caper / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Dramatic Landfall Shot / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Exercise Excuse / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Fakin' MacGuffin / int_7b30e87b
 21
hasFeature
Falsely Advertised Accuracy / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Good with Numbers / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Lecture as Exposition / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Monty Hall Problem / int_7b30e87b
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hasFeature
Title by Number / int_7b30e87b
 TwentyOne
seeAlso
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hasFeature
Viva Las Vegas! / int_7b30e87b