As late-stage capitalism enters its terminal phase, democracy sees an epic fail, giving way to a kind of corporate plutocracy. The problem is all too clear: Government, in just about every country you can think of, has been bought and sold.

Most people are clued in to this depressing reality, and you may well wonder, do we really need the movies to rub our noses in it? Well, in the case of "Casino Jack," the answer is a resounding "yes." Based on the Jack Abramoff scandal of George W. Bush-era Washington — which involved a web of influence peddling, cozy ties between lobbyists and politicians, and millions siphoned off from the casinos on Native American reservations — "Casino Jack" could easily have been a somber, educational autopsy of K Street corruption.

The presence of Kevin Spacey in the lead should have tipped me, though: "Casino Jack" is a farce, a wallow in the mire of dirty Washington politics that manages to find the sheer ridiculousness in this tale of hubris and epic greed.