Lucky You (***)

? A professional poker player (Eric Bana) keeps pushing his luck until he meets a woman (Drew Barrymore) who’s willing to push back. Robert Duvall plays the one man he can’t seem to beat, and who also happens to be his father. The film was directed by Curtis Hanson (In Her Shoes, 8 Mile, L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys).

+ Above all, this movie seems to accurately portray the world of the professional player and the nature of the game. It does this even better than Rounders, a poker film from 1998, and certainly more than in Two for the Money, 2005’s sports-betting allegory that pushes the idea that gambling success is about getting in a good groove. Hanson and writing collaborator Eric Roth (Munich, The Good Shepherd) emphasize that it’s all about the odds. I expect they actually spent some time in Las Vegas (where the movie’s set) learning about the kind of people who frequent poker tables, and about the game itself. As anyone who’s watched TV poker knows (and contrary to what’s suggested in the otherwise excellent Casino Royale, etc.), straight flushes are extremely rare and a pair of threes might sometimes win a big pot. Barrymore’s character is the sort of nice, honest girl she usually plays, but the father-son relationship at the heart of the film is less conventional.

- The story is only partly predictable, but in terms of the path taken by its main character, it was much what I expected. I enjoyed the movie, but it’s a small one that I think won’t stick with me.

= *** Hanson’s film has fewer commercial elements than his other movies (i.e., it doesn’t glamorize the world of the gambler, or feature a lot of sex and violence), but it’s a good option for those not looking for Vegas flash.

IMDb link

circulated via email 5/10/07