Stream it now Lucky You 2007

 

Lucky You is one of those colossal failures of film a lucky many have missed. Box Office Mojo records it as being the second lowest weekend opening of all time. It is hollow, forgettable, and worst of all, unnecessary.

Lucky You is about a poker hustler named Huck (Eric Bana), and his mission to win the World Series of Poker. He is the worst kind of gambler - gifted, and unscrupulous enough to perpetually re-ante, but too proud to ever profit. His estranged father L. C. Cheever (Robert Duval, in the film's only tolerable performance) is his antagonist. L. C. is also a skilled gambler who has already won the World Series twice. Huck despises him for his talent, and their mutual, amoral qualities.

L. C. tells Huck, "You play cards the way you should lead your life. And you lead your life the way you should play cards." The film has a similar problem - it's about playing poker when it should be about telling a story, and it tells a story when it should be about playing poker. There is a delightful motif in the way Huck and his Father continually win and lose a ring to each other, but it gets muddled by Huck's unremarkable love interest with Billie (Drew Barrymore). Lucky You's soundtrack is similarly disjointed, by having soulful bookend songs by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, while being eerily silent throughout. Lucky You is so focused on explaining poker it conveys "bad commercial" rather than the swings of winning and losing.

Curtis Hanson (director of L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, and 8 Mile) directed and co-wrote the film alongside Eric Roth (The Good Shepherd and Munich). The script's porn-caliber flaws cannot be Roth's doing - The Good Shepherd is a veritable textbook on dialogue. The problem must be Hanson. Lisa Schwarzbaum says Hanson is "an obsessive filmmaker who loves to immerse himself in exotic subcultures." The urban streets of Detroit in 8 Mile are simply richer than the factory-like casinos of Las Vegas. Hanson is too focused on the strategies of the game and is unwilling or unable to fix the flat acting and uncharismatic characters.

Lucky You is deliberately set in 2003 "before poker got big." It features a plethora of cameos from professional poker players: Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson, and Johnny Chan. Poker aficionados cheer when they see Chan, because of his prominence in the superior poker film Rounders. Rounders showcased the joy of poker so well that many pros say it inspired their interest in the game. Lucky You isn't even a shadow of Rounders; its mark on film and the game of poker is completely transparent.

This is a lower key movie. It really has nothing much to it. No huge suspense or excitement. Just something nice to watch when you have nothing else to do. The story was pretty crisp and made sense. The cast was pretty good also. I am not too fond of Eric Bana, but he played this role great. Drew Barrymore was ok, but her character didn't seem comfortable to me. There is a few small parts in the movie played by some good actors also. You could kind of call them cameos. If you are a poker fan, this is a fun movie to watch. If not, it is just an all around nice movie to watch. Pretty good film.

This movie has a very catchy premise and a very predictable ending. I love movies like that. So what if I knew what was going to happen in the end, that doesnt take away from the experience of the film. Drew berrymore is absolutely charming in this film. She is utterly convincing. Also, Eric Bana also gave a decent performance. Overall this is a very enjoyable romantic comedy with some good poker thrown in.

This movie is easily one of the top 5 romantic comedies I've ever seen. It has an onslaught of talent (Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duval, and Horatio Sanz) that is complimented perfectly with original and engaging dialogue. It was unpredictable and had me wondering the whole time, "What's going to happen next?" The characters are authentic and at know point did it occur to me that I was watching a movie (The acting was so good it just blew me away)! The poker analogies are insightful and are so relevant to life that I literally cried when I heard Drew Barrymore tell Eric Bana, after a fight in response to, "What are you doing?" She replies with, "Making a good fold!" Oh my GOD!. Did anyone else catch the pun? It flows so naturally and is soooo true to relationships!
Duval delivers another performance of a life-time that honestly rivals that of the Godfather. I'm not even kidding. The deep psychological and dark past between himself and his son (played by Bana) adds a deeper element to the story and makes one really care about these two characters. They reveal just enough to keep us wanting more.
Horation Sanz is stellar. Enough said.
I was a little disappointed with the lack of poker metaphors throughout the movie. As I stated earlier, there were a couple, but for a movie about poker and love? There should have been more. That's my only real complaint in the movie. Otherwise the writing is exceptional. Actually I do have one more complaint, when is the sequel coming out!?

It was OK, except for some of the faggoty poker players in it like Phil the mutt from hell endorsing his B.S. theiving/cheating ultimatebet.com BLEH!

some boring... good actors Robert Duvall, Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, and some poker stars.... Daniel Negranu, Dennis Farha, etc... but if u want a good poker film watch..... Rounders, Oceans 11 and 13 (12 sucks) or 21.....

The movie was enough to keep me awake on a transcontinental flight, so it did have some redeeming qualities, namely it revolved around poker. But it also had Drew Barrymore as part of its cast. Perhaps the most unecessary, undeveloped, unmoving, and unbelievable romance plot line I have seen. And I say that recognizing how week Barrymore's acting skills are. This would be more the writer and director's fault than anything else, and Bana's agent should have seen this coming before he allowed Eric to sign onto this failed venture. There was a decent father-son poker plot here without the forced and comically pathetic romantic distraction. Fortunately, it was so cheesy the movie ended up an unintentional comedy.

Honestly, this has to be one of the boringest movies of Drew's adult career. Plots and story was just dull. Nothing exciting happened and I just sat there waiting for it to be over.

I thought it was a good movie but could they have gotten some one better than Drew Barrymore I mean she talks like she just got out of the dentist chair or has a stroke mouth And some her lines " I havnt had this much fun since jr. high"

This film was one that was promoted as a romance that had the setting within a casino, particularly a poker table. The characters involved were played by actors/actresses that I have always liked ie: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore and Robert Duvall, but the film was not very well done from an audience member's point of view.

Firstly, the setting was not fitting towards a romance as gambling focuses more on the money involved and actions taken by players. Therefore, it was not easy to follow what you should be most interested in, winning a big tournament and lots of money or a relationship with someone you are in love with. I also felt that by throwing in a relationship between a son and father, it just diluted the storyline even more as you could not tell which was more important.

It was entertaining to watch due to the famous poker players that were shown, but it did not show real playing and did not really demonstrate the potential risks that occur by getting involved with such a game.