Lucky You departs from previous poker-themed films like the wildly impossible final hand from The Cincinnati Kid and the cookie-cutter tells from Rounders, but unfortunately it forgot a key component those films included: Great casting, great acting, and characters you actually liked and cheered for.
I was expecting a lot more from Lucky You since it was directed by Curtis Hanson, of L.A. Confidential fame. What drags the movie down is the horrible casting of Eric Bana in the lead role and Drew Barrymore as the woman he chases. Also along for the ride is Robert Duvall, who actually gives a good performance in stark contrast to the rest of the deadweight.
In the film Bana plays Huck Cheever, an overly aggressive poker player who constantly lets his emotions get the best of him resulting in him ending up broke, over and over again. Barrymore plays the horribly-named Billie Offer, a Vegas lounge singer who – thanks to Barrymore – can’t sing to save her life. Duvall is Bana’s estranged father, a poker legend who everyone in the world loves, except Bana who’s never forgiven him for walking out on him and his mom. The usual jaded father-and-son clichés ring true (yes they meet up at the final table, who didn’t see that one coming?), with only Duvall’s lively performance adding any real life to the story.
The poker scenes in Lucky You are actually well done and demonstrate that the filmmakers really did know something about poker when they were filming it. Having cameos by poker pros like Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein probably helped, as well as a bit-part by Jennifer Harman. Unfortunately they didn’t pay as close attention to the plot or the characters, or maybe Lucky You would be worth a look instead of being a poker film that fails in every aspect expect the poker.
In case you didn’t already know, Lucky You has been gathering dust on the Hollywood shelf for almost two years. Movies that go through long delays like that usually aren’t worth wasting 11 bucks to go see on the big screen, and Luck You is no exception.
