Lucky Numbers Review
by "Steve Rhodes" (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)November 2nd, 2000
LUCKY NUMBERS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2000 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
In LUCKY NUMBERS, by director Nora Ephron (YOU'VE GOT MAIL), Russ Richards is a local celebrity who has it all, right down to an omelet that a diner has named after him. The television weatherman at a station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he is so popular that everyone wants to take his picture. "Fame, fortune and my own private parking place -- I had it all," he tells us in voice-over.
Well, he did have it all until he made a major investment in snowplows during an unseasonable winter warm spell. Now facing bankruptcy, he has gone from being a cocky guy who loves to ham it up with bad jokes to a petrified worrier who is willing to risk imprisonment to save his lavish lifestyle. He has big plans to be a famous television game show host, so he doesn't want to let a negative net worth get in his way.
Working again with Ephron, as he did in the sappy MICHAEL, John Travolta appears this time as Russ, a lovable doofus without any hint of wings. Travolta's over-the-top character is as likeable as he is stupid. In fact, the warm weather seems to have fried everyone's brains. A few bright characters would have made for a nice contrast.
Tim Roth, as Russ's nefarious criminal friend, is significantly underutilized. Great at playing bright but explosively dangerous characters, Roth is given almost nothing to do other than chop vegetables in the kitchen of a sleazy nightclub. Any action is delegated to a hit man whom he has on speed dial.
As the Vanna White of the Pennsylvania Lottery, "the lotto ball girl," Lisa Kudrow is Crystal Latroy. Wearing tight-fitting, sequined dresses, slit way up the side, Crystal is syrupy sweet on camera and foul-mouthed tough off camera. In short, Kudrow plays Kudrow but as a slightly darker version of her usual ditzy blonde character. The comedic jousting between Travolta and Kudrow make for some of the movie's most entertaining moments.
The heart of the story is a big scam to rig the lottery. Precisely how the money is to be divided up becomes the picture's longest running joke. Documentarian Michael Moore (ROGER & ME) gets a nice small role as Crystal's asthmatic cousin, who is paid to redeem the winning ticket.
The problem with LUCKY NUMBERS is that the audience's lucky numbers don't come up nearly often as they should. Many scenes are inspired, but most just drag on without any comedic payoff. There are so many minor characters and subplots that you want to take a pair of scissors to the print and cut some of the them out. An overgrown bush of a picture, it is in bad need of pruning to let the best flowers have the light to bloom.
The best moments are silly fun, but there just aren't enough of them. When you go to your local multiplex's box office, pick another number and wait for video on this one.
LUCKY NUMBERS runs 1:40. It is rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and brief violence and would be acceptable for most teenagers.
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