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I wish that Bana's inability to create a believable American accent (it's not that long ago he was doing skits about Batman & Robin in which the same American accent was meant to be taken as a joke) was the only flaw of Lucky You - sadly, it's just the beginning of the films woes.
Bana
play Huck Cheever, a "blaster" (a poker player who goes all out, all
the time) on the tables - but in his personal relationships, Huck plays
it tight. When Huck sets out to win the main event of the
2003 World
Series of Poker, and the affections of Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore)
there is one significant obstacle in his path: his anger toward his
father, L.C. Cheever, the poker legend who abandoned Huck's mother
years ago. From here it's a whole lotta card playing - and a whole
lotta card metaphors.
While the world of Texas Hold'em as a
spectator sport continues to grow on cable TV, as a visual form of
entertainment - it's about as stimulating as "Cricket: The Movie". And
again, as much as I would like to say that the pure boredom created by
watching other people play cards for two hours is Lucky You's
major flaw - it's not. In fact, the poker scenes are quite possibly the
only form of drama throughout the 120 minutes that actually create any
sense of anticipation, tension or excitement.
By and large, the
weight of the problems lay with the character of Huck. The guy is
simply not a like able lead. He's a lowdown loser - a gambling addict
who is so self involved that he steals from Billie without remorse,
constantly rationalising every action with a "I'll win it back"
arrogance that is simply never backed up.
Furthermore, Bana
struggles to find a way to make Huck likable. There have been plenty of
arseholes as lead characters in the history of film - no more recent
than Denzel Washington in American Gangster, where
the lead is a despicable murderer & drug dealer. Yet Washington
oozes so much charm, that he enables the audience to cheer him on.
Watching Huck - you find yourself cheering on Barrymore's character to
leave him, and find yourself angry when she goes back. He simply has no
redeeming qualities other than arrogance and being a deadbeat. Are we
supposed to thing a crippling gambling addiction is endearing? At least
Clooney's Danny Ocean knew how to dress well!
Lucky You
is far from the romantic drama it's been promoted as being. Because
romance has little to do with it - it's a story about selfishness and
how bad parenting can rub off on one's offspring. And I don't know
about you - but if I wanted to spend two hours watching selfish losers
with no redeemable qualities, I'd just go down to the local TAB and
wait for some bonehead in a polo tshirt to hit on my sister.
In a word : Dull. EXTRAS
If
there's one redeemable quality here, it's the extras. They give a
rather cool insight into the world of professional poker, tournaments
and the lifestyle. It's quite amazing - purely from the point of view
of rewarding skill.
There's also deleted scenes included. But let's face it - if you're struggling to find one scene that's not boring that made the final cut - then good luck trying to get some enjoyment from moments picked out of the "Not Good Enough" bin. Conclusion:
Movie 45% Extras: 50%
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