Lucky Numbers (2000) 2 stars out of 4. Starring John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Ed O'Neill, Tim Roth and Michael Rappaport. Written by Adam Resnick. Directed by Nora Ephron.
Every town and small city has its Russ Richards. He's the local ìcelebrity,î the TV anchorman, weatherman or pitchman who everyone knows and adores.
Heís the big fish in the small pond who basks in the adoration of his fans.
Russ Richards is the star celebrity weatherman at a Harrison, Pa., TV station. And it is his story that is the focus of Lucky Numbers, a broad and sometime strident comedy about greed and its consequences.
Set in 1988, Lucky Numbers is loosely based on a real incident from 1980 in which someone tried to fix the daily number drawing in the Pennsylvania state lottery.
Screenwriter Adam Resnick and director Nora Ephron have fictionalized this scandal, creating an almost slapstick style comedy, which moves in starts and spurts.
Richards (John Travolta) is the king of Harrisburg. His life, as far as he is concerned, is a joy. He has his own parking space as well as his own table at the local Dennyís. Fans, waiters and waitresses fawn over him.
However, Richardsí life is about to start that long painful downhill slide. His snowmobile business is causing him to go broke, costing him his house and his prized possession his Jaguar. It seems a warm spell has gripped Harrisburg so there is no call for snowmobiles during the winter of '88.
Richards turns to his friend, Gig (Tim Roth), who gives him several suggestions none legal on how to obtain some quick cash.
The first, an attempted burglary of his dealership, is thwarted but an overzealous employee.
Then Gig suggests a way to fix the $6.4 million lottery drawing. This plan works, but then everyone who knows about the scheme wants a piece of the action.
Pretty soon, Russ again owes more than he has.
And while all this may sound hilarious and parts are Lucky Numbers has a mean-spiritedness to it. These people who also include Lisa Kudrow as the sluttish lottery number girl and Ed O'Neill as the slimy head of the TV station are venal, unethical and greedy.
None of them are really worth caring about. It is difficult to like or root for any of them. Even while you laugh, you don't want to see them succeed.
As a paean to avarice, Lucky Numbers is a textbook study. It doesnít rank, though, with a comedy such as Outrageous Fortune. Lucky Numbers it is too long, too broad and features too many characters and too much double dealing.
Travoltaís performance, while rather hammy, is not bad. His Russ Richards is one of those self-centered, spoiled people who believes their status entitles them to whatever they want.
Kudrowís Crystal Latroy is an immoral co-conspirator who uses her body to get what she wants and what she thinks she deserves.
Lucky Numbers has several funny moments, but as a whole the film leaves you dissatisfied. Maybe it is because I don't care about bad things happening to these unredeemable characters. I think these people all get what they deserve.
And I donít like spending two hours dwelling on their flaws and shortcomings.
No, Lucky Numbers has its hilarious moments, but overall these people are not worth anyoneís time.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net Reviews by Bob Bloom can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database site: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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