Lucky You (2007)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writers (WGA):

Eric Roth (screenplay) &
Curtis Hanson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

Change your game. Change your life.

Plot:

A hotshot poker player tries to win a tournament in Vegas, but is fighting a losing battle with his personal problems.

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Poker Player | Father Son Relationship | Beautiful Woman | Pawnshop

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 18

9:00 PM

LIFE

Cast

Phyllis Somerville	...	Pawnbroker
Eric Bana	...	Huck Cheever
Horatio Sanz	...	Ready Eddie
Drew Barrymore	...	Billie Offer
Joey Kern	...	Billie’s Admirer
Debra Messing	...	Suzanne Offer
Delaine Yates	...	Ginger
Mykel Shannon Jenkins	...	Gary
Robert Duvall	...	L. C. Cheever
Charles Martin Smith	...	Roy Durucher
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Telephone Jack
Saverio Guerra	...	Lester
Danny Hoch	...	Bobby Basketball
Kenny Cau	...	Chinese Restaurant Waiter
Kelvin Han Yee	...	Chico Banh

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual humor.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | Germany:6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Lucky You Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

The portrait (actually an enlarged photograph) hung on the wall during the final WSOP match is that of Benny Binion, the original owner of the Horseshoe, taken at his ranch in Montana.

Goofs:

Continuity: Just after the players at the final table are introduced, the dealer goes through the motions of "washing" the cards, that is, spreading them out haphazardly over the table, then gathering them up again into a neat stack for shuffling and dealing twice, repeating the gestures between shots without the time required for human hands to make the gestures twice.

Quotes:

Billie Offer: Why do you like it so much? Is it the money?
Huck Cheever: The money's just a way of keeping score. Poker is competition in the purest sense. Doesn't mater who you are or what you are; everybody's equal at the table.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Am Legend (2007)

Soundtrack:

Huck's Tune

Worth a look, especially for Bana fans, of which there are scads

Huck (Eric Bana) is a professional poker player on a losing streak. His near empty house in Las Vegas also sports a pool with no water. As he is pawning a camera and his mother's wedding ring, he is hoping for his luck to change. In truth, he is a great player but does not know when to walk away from a table or a bet. One night, after leaving the gambling establishments, he goes to a local watering hole and meets a nice looking lady named Billie (Drew Barrymore). As she is being pestered by a loser, Huck comes to rescue her from his attentions. They make a connection. However, Billie's sister (Debra Messing) persuades her sibling to walk away, saying she knows Huck well and that he is all hustle and no commitment. Yet, Huck persists and convinces Billie to go on a date After a lovely evening and night together, Huck promptly takes money from Billie's wallet to take to the gaming tables. Ouch. Oh, and Huck's father (Robert Duvall), a prize winning poker player, is back in town to compete in the high stakes games. Will Huck win big? And, will Billie ever speak to him again? This is a good movie with a few flaws. It has a somewhat slow pace and also suffers from some incredulity as far as Huck's poverty despite his obvious great talent for cards. Nevertheless, Bana is certainly a large part of why the film is so worthwhile, as his Huck is a very charismatic person, indeed. Barrymore is probably miscast as Billie, although that is not to say she performs badly, just nondescriptly, as the role does not call for a display of her comic abilities. Then, too, someone decided to give her the hair styles of a bowling alley queen and the costumes of a dork. On the other hand, and surprisingly, the Las Vegas setting looks gorgeous, even away from the sparkling lights. If you like Bana, and who the heck doesn't, you will not want to miss a showing of this movie. Anyone with a hankering for high-stakes poker will be perfectly enthralled as well.