Farcical ‘Casino’ fails to hit the Jack-pot

Republicans poised to prove that the Obama administration is one of "the most corrupt in history" have their work cut out for them, thanks to Jack Abramoff.

Not to mention Warren Harding. (Does Rep. Darrell Issa watch "Boardwalk Empire"?)

Abramoff is the Republican lobbyist now in jail for mail fraud and conspiracy, the result of a fundraising/bribery case that claimed two Bush administration officials, a congressman and nine other lobbyists.

Alex Gibney detailed his misdeeds in the documentary "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," and now the scandal gets a zany comic makeover in "Casino Jack."

The title role goes to Kevin Spacey, amped-up to play Abramoff as a Type-A hustler whose addiction to deal-making and social-climbing abets the insane risk-taking that topples his lobbying empire. (The movie starts with his arrest and works backward.)

The role has been tailored to Spacey, a naturally hyper actor and notorious mimic - Abramoff was a former producer and movie buff, an attribute that allows Spacey to indulge in amusing impersonations of other Hollywood actors.

It's in keeping with director George Hickenlooper's gonzo approach to the material, a tone meant to reflect Abramoff's brazen actions as a slippery middleman standing at the intersection of influence and peddling.

Abramoff specialized in lobbying for Indian tribes and gaming operations - in practice, this meant charging exorbitant sums to tribes, delivering nothing in return and funneling much of the money to a scheme to profit from floating offshore casinos. (Jon Lovitz is the frontman, and he's very funny.)

Hickenlooper pours on the high-roller sleaze - if you've ever wanted to see Lovitz in a threesome with a couple of Miami hookers, this is your chance.

The movie's corruption-as-farce approach yields a few choice scenes, and "Casino Jack" gets some points for not being indignant or sanctimonious.

Hickenlooper, though, doesn't have the stylist's knack for sustaining this over-the-top mood, and the movie often feels flat and repetitive. Gibney's documentary hit harder by keeping a straight face while laying out the facts of Abramoff's increasingly outrageous schemes.

And Spacey, manic as he is, doesn't give us insight into Abramoff's personal contradictions. He was a religious Jew who never attempted to reconcile his faith with reckless and immoral actions.

He ends up destroying what's most precious to him - his family - and there's no room in Hickenlooper's insistent farce for that small tragedy.