Customer Reviews

Lucky You

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a great time to come out with a movie about poker, since the sport has taken off at supersonic speed with amateurs winning the main event of the World Series in the last few years and people following the action on ESPN. The main problem I see with this movie though is that in an effort to be original it runs into unreal situations like a misdeal followed by a huge bad beat, or a close call to end a contrived bet.

The plot is fairly typical, a poker pro, Huck Cleever, trying to make it to the World Series of poker and win the main event. In the process, he meets a girl that shakes his world and makes him rethink his priorities. The added complication is that he is the son of a two-time winner of the event, and the son-father relationship has been in tatters for a long time. During his quest, Huck experiences huge swings in his luck, and this provides an enlightening view of what the life of a professional gambler can be like.

The acting is not particularly inspired, with the exception of Robert Duvall, who plays L.C. Cheever, the father of the protagonist. Duvall infuses his character with the external toughness and inner conflicts that the role requires and is therefore extremely successful in the process. There is a wide array of poker pros taking part in this movie, but most of them have silent roles, the exceptions are Sammy Farha and Jason Lester, who have a couple of lines each. The list of celebrities includes among others Phil Helmut, Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. I did not really understand why a couple of pros play characters with different names, like Jennifer Harman, who plays Shannon Kincaid, or John Hennigan as Ralph Kaczynski.

Overall, I think that the idea of the movie was good, but the execution was deficient and the overall quality suffered as a result. For a long time to come, poker movies are going to be evaluated in terms of how they compare to Rounders, and in that sense, this one comes up short. Poker players will probably get some enjoyment from this production, but they should not expect much.

"Lucky You" is a tutorial in professional poker. The strategy. The company. And, most importantly for any movie that chooses to invest in its subject - the nature of it. The screenplay - written by Eric Roth and director Curtis Hanson - charts the heartbeat of an addicted gambler, a pulse that mirrors that of a cocaine user: Joyous leaps and races punctuated by moments when the flow of blood almost stops completely.

It strips some of the manly sweat away from the craft, too. The movie lacks the histrionics and black drama of, say, "Rounders," in part because "Rounders" is a myth, born of the idea men have about the wars of personality going on at a poker table. "Lucky You" has its clashes, for sure, and its cliches, too, but they lack blarney and false bravado. Here, poker is risk management. Actuarial work. And it makes sense.

Eric Bana turns in a committed performance as Huck Cheever, a Las Vegas poker player - he dabbles in other ridiculous bets of chance, cards, and athletic skill, but is careful never to play "the house" - whose attitude might best be likened to golfer Phil Mickelson. Huck fires for the pin on nearly every hand, overshoots the cards, and never seems to get the river when he needs it most. It's not that Huck doesn't see the angles - he chooses to obliterate them. Again and again. That's how he ends up with an empty house whose deed is held by a sports gambler watching seven televisions at once, including Australian basketball.

The movie opens with Huck pawning his mother's ring, in an effort to get a $10,000 stake in the World Series of Poker. He'll win it that $10,000, then he'll lose it, win it, lose it. His shifting fortune will involve a lounge singer new to Vegas named Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore). As her own character, Billie, seemingly naïve but oddly full of rectitude, is ill-defined. As a mirror held up to Huck's unshaven face, she would be effective if Barrymore, a sunny, buoyant actor unsuited to the moral compromises of Sin City, weren't playing her. "Lucky You" tries on romance but never makes it fit very well.

Better are the father/son dynamics between Huck and his father L.C. (Robert Duvall), a revered champion for whom Huck has unmitigated disdain. There are no surprises in their absent chemistry - L.C. was a deadbeat dad, Huck developed into a deadbeat, in general - but their scenes, especially one in a diner over several games of Guts, are fiercely written. Duvall still knows how to massage a monologue with his halting speech patterns; he uses a comic's understanding of a punchline to create a lizard of a man, down his slicked mat of hair plugs. L.C. sees himself as a Picasso of cards, an artist who sense his "time" of heightened skills is drawing to a close.

Thing is, Huck still has the nose.

For what? The mood of a hand. The unspoken momentum of it. The smell of winning and money. "Lucky You" has no prideful illusions about poker - if anything, it sticks its talons hard into the idea of "manning up" - but it still injects an air of tension and romance into its many poker hands. However misguided or addictive the behavior might be, most of the players in the movie show a love (or at least a healthy lust) for the craft; only Huck seems bent on something greater than victory. Michael Shannon and Jean Smart are especially effective in smaller as two of Huck's competitors, but the credit can be spread around; using several actors from "8 Mile," director Hanson asks for hunger and mild desperation, and he gets it from them.

Hanson's camera is equally nuanced. This is no Vegas glamour pic; we are spared helicopter dollies of The Strip. The candy lights blink in the background of many scenes, but the characters are not enamored or gob smacked by the scene, including Billie. This is a movie of people who live here, and work here, and it is long past excitement. Such honesty about the city - and the willpower to resist it becoming a character of its own - is refreshing.

Aside from Billie, the movie's weakness is a nearly endless final act that covers the World Series of Poker, not since Stallone's "Over The Top" - I'm semi-serious here - has a movie been so committed to introducing new characters in the final thirty minutes like video game bosses, then placing a miniature story arc on their fortunes. The movie's two twists are easily spotted before they unfold and the "resolution," as it were, seems a little dishonest, if morally tidy.

Nevertheless, "Lucky You" has a surprising amount of integrity, and Bana delivers a smooth, like-him-loathe-him performance, equal parts intelligence and ego. He only missteps when he has to make eyes at Barrymore. Funny that Roth and Hanson have a romantic angle for commercial appeal, only to have the movie shelved and dumped on the same weekend of the largest opening in film history ("Spider-Man 3").

If you aren't a fan of high-stakes poker, or the gambling lifestyle, in general, Curtis Hanson's "Lucky You" may seem a 'bad bet', particularly as a romantic vehicle for Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore; but if you enjoy the rush of the game, and the Vegas lifestyle, circa 2003, this one is a keeper!

While the film lacks the intensity of "The Cincinnati Kid", "The Gambler", or "The Rounders", or loopy reality of "California Split", I'd still rank it among the better films about gambling, simply because of Hanson's non-apologetic approach to the subject, and respect for the practitioners (with many real-life gamblers appearing in the various match-ups). As the estranged son of a poker legend (Robert Duvall, who is, as always, superb), Eric Bana is quite convincing as a gifted, if headstrong gambler, for whom money, anyone's money, is simply a tool to ply his trade. He has a code of ethics, but ultimately, being in the game is the most important thing in his life, which puts him into romantic jeopardy when he (unconvincingly) falls for innocent aspiring singer Drew Barrymore. Needless to say, he learns that life isn't only about the next pot, but his moments with her are the least believable aspect of the film.

On the plus side, poker, Vegas-style, is portrayed lovingly, with quirky characters, venues unique to themselves, and an adrenaline rush that never ends. It isn't the glamorous 'Never Never Land' of TV's "Vegas", but a continuing stage for fortunes to be won and lost, and won, again, where novice gamblers fuel the cashflow for seasoned pros. Hanson 'scores' here, and as a Vegas resident, I can honestly say he captures the city's spirit, perfectly!

The Special Features of the DVD are quite wonderful, with insights by professional poker players, and an understandable explanation of the vagaries of poker ("The best hand doesn't always win, it's how the hand is played").

All-in-all, "Lucky You" doesn't deliver a big jackpot, but is certainly a winning hand!

I saw this movie last year during a free screening. It was a decent date movie about love and poker. Despite the title, "Lucky You" is really about an down and out poker play, Huck Cheever, trying to get into a famous poker tournament. A big part of the movie is Huck's rivalry with his dad who beats up in the poker table. We see Huck have a lover Suzanne Offer. However, eventually he falls for her sister who
is a singer.

Barrymore hasn't looked she's aged much. Her performance is good here. However, to be honest this role is the same as other roles she's played where she falls in love with a guy that hurts her. Bana is convincing as the down on his luck poker play who hates his dad. Duvall by this point is a master in playing the stuffy, arrogant, old man at the twilight of his career. "Lucky You" in a way this is one of those movies where the major character as hard he tries is an underachiever who can't cut a break. Nothing ever seems to work for him including relationships. This movie also has the familiar "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, then loses her again" plot that that audiences will eat up.

I remember the audience though did love it and the movie does manage to blend in comedy and drama and shows you a bit of what's like in the card playing world of poker.

The release of the movie in May just seems totally illogical. With all the summer blockbusters coming up, it seems destined to be a movie that will be forgotten amidst the hype of the other movies. Still it's a decent movie and the acting is fine. The movie may not do huge at the box office but if you want a perfectly decent movie to watch that will leave you satisfied at the end then check it out

Lucky You
i may be one of the few who loved this film
then again look at the stellar cast
eric bana who just looks good no matter what
robert duvall is great
so is drew

Nice film to watch on dvd.... I would say it is the middle of the road average in terms of movies out there on the market today.

The acting and storyline are good and very solid throughout... Eric Bana's character is a professional poker player in Las Vegas struggling with some issues like a difficult time making a commitment in the romantic department. His character also has issues with his professional poker playing father who placed poker far and above his family. These issues seem to be resolved by the end of the movie in an understated kind of way.

High stakes Las Vegas gambling and Drew Barrymore- what could be more exciting? Right? Wrong. Drew sleepwalks through this movie in a trance (hopefully not chemically induced), there's absolutely no chemistry between her and Bana (how could there be chemistry between two rocks?), and the tone of this movie and its actors is so low-key that it quickly descends into a monotone drone. With its relative dearth of music and surprisingly fuzzy film quality, I would have thought that I was watching a low-budget Bulgarian movie from the 1980s, were it not for the familiar faces and American details. It's not a disaster, but it's not very good either. Unless you're a big time fan of professional poker, skip it.

This movie was painful! I even like the actors, but it was so hard to sit through, I wanted to chew on my own hand. It seemed like it was about 4 hours long. Despite it's description, it was really a poker documentary with well known actors. HORRIBLE!

This movie is about a poker player that has had a strained relationship with his father who meets a girl. And that's about it. There is no depth or chemistry between the couple, you certainly don't root for them to be together. The father and son do repair their strained relationship at the end of the movie.

There are several poker matches shown so if you like poker, you might like this movie otherwise you probably won't.

We got this movie because my wife is a big Drew Barrymore fan, but after reading other reviews about how small a role she actually had in the movie, we weren't expecting much when we sat down to watch it. And neither of us being poker players only added to the low expectations. But surprisingly, the movie was a good story well told and we enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is really about an adult son struggling with a life lived in his father's shadow and how he overcomes it to become his own man. Poker is just the vehicle. It could have been anything. The movie is not a blockbuster and it's a little moody, but it keeps your interest and is worth a watch.