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Lucky You

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Lucky You (2007)

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Reviews Counted:135

Fresh:40

Rotten:95

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Lucky You tries to combine a romantic story with the high-stakes world of poker, but comes up with an empty hand.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some language and sexual humor

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:22-06-2007

Synopsis: Director Curtis Hanson (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, WONDER BOYS) raises the stakes and takes on Las Vegas in LUCKY YOU. Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) plays poker for a living, using every opportunity that arises... Director Curtis Hanson (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, WONDER BOYS) raises the stakes and takes on Las Vegas in LUCKY YOU. Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) plays poker for a living, using every opportunity that arises in daily life to hone his skills and test the odds. He is fueled by both a compulsion to win and the desire to do better than his father, L.C. Cheever (Robert Duvall), who is a championship poker player. Huck's skills come naturally, but he lacks patience. When he meets Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), an earnest, honest girl from Bakersfield pursuing her dream of being a singer, he sees the possibility of a real relationship for the first time. But Huck's habits are hard to break, and he'll have to make some changes if he wants to make this relationship work. Barrymore is sweet as Billie, but it is the relationship between Huck and his father that moves the story along. Huck harbors ill feelings towards L.C. from his childhood--feelings that are complicated by his burning desire to best his father at poker. Bana effectively shows the animosity Huck feels towards his father with subtle changes to his facial expression and body language, and Duvall actually makes the hard-nosed L.C. likable. Ultimately, the real star of this movie is poker. Throughout the film, it's the strategies and bets, the flops and the rivers, that draw the viewer in. Professional poker players served as consultants and extras in the film, lending authenticity to the World Series of Poker where father and son face off. Debra Messing plays Billie's sister, Horatio Sanz is Ready Eddie, who can turn any situation into a bet, and Robert Downey Jr. appears all too briefly as Huck's friend. [More]

Starring: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing

Starring: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing, Horatio Sanz, Jean Smart, Kelvin Han Yee, Charles Martin Smith

Director: Curtis Hanson

Director: Curtis Hanson
Screenwriter: Curtis Hanson, Eric Roth
Producer: Carol Fenelon, Denise Di Novi
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for Lucky You

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Can't decide whether it's a cautionary tale about gambling, a weepy father-son drama or a breezy rom-com.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
06/30/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Below average, overlong drama that fails to deliver an emotional punch, largely because it's unsure of whether it wants to be a father-son drama or a romcom.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/22/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Gambling drama never seems to draw the right cards. Best to fold...

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/22/07
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

But Lucky You would be distinctly better if it were shorter in length and clearer about the rules of the game. Its idea that gamblers carry on much the same in life as they do at the tables is hardly original enough to sustain the whole film.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
06/22/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

The beats here aren't bad, they're just slow, slight and rather predictable.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
06/22/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

As Kenny Rogers once said: “It’s all about knowing when to hold ’em and knowing when to fold ’em”. In poker terms this over-long flop is a busted flush.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
06/22/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

Although Lucky You was made nearly two years ago, it seems Warner Brothers didn’t quite know what to do with it, hence it being quietly slipped out in a quiet week between blockbusters. Maybe they hoped nobody would notice.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
06/22/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

A frustrating case of good pedigree, bad form. Delayed time and again, this mish-mash of listless plotting, shallow characters and uninvolving action sadly wasn’t worth the wait. Poker fans are better off looking up The Cincinnati Kid or Rounders.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
06/22/07
Tony Horkins
Tony Horkins
Total Film

Gamble on the movie, by all means: it has its low-key pleasures. But perhaps safer to fold, and hope Hanson deals us an ace again soon.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
06/22/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In the past, poker-playing in the movies was likely to be something exciting but dangerous, not something to be dwelt on technically, and analogous to other criminal and self-destructive activities in the storyline.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
06/22/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though Curtis Hanson captures the savage swings from high to low, he fails to when it comes to the addictive quality of poker

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
06/22/07
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

While fans of Eric Bana may get a kick out of his meaty, manly performance, Drew Barrymore is a huge mistake.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/22/07
James Mottram
James Mottram
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No way to make poker cinematic.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/22/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A ‘realistic’ Vegas movie that will set no-one’s soul on fire, but is further proof that Hanson can lend his talents to any style of movie.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/22/07
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I don't think I believed the movie Lucky You, but I sort of enjoyed it. A caveat: I enjoy watching poker on ESPN. If you don't, this movie will bore you.

Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | comment Comment
02/02/09
Tony Macklin
Tony Macklin
Fayetteville Free Weekly

... captures the manner in which both the smallest and largest events on a road trip can build a sense of camaraderie among three strangers with very little in common.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
11/12/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Hanson and Roth shuffle the two sides of the movie, the poker tournament and the love affair, with a Howard Hawksian feel for casual professionalism.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
04/10/08
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

Since Lucky You overdid the poker cliches to death, let me end with one of my favorites: 'You got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em.' It seems this film never learned that lesson.

Full Review Source: The Scorecard Review | comment Comment
03/03/08
Jeff Bayer
Jeff Bayer
The Scorecard Review

Better to fold 'em than to spend time watching Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore go literally nowhere.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
01/04/08
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Personally, I think this is one of those misunderstood films that never got a fair shake. DVD often corrects such oversights, and my hope is that Lucky You will finally find the appreciative audience it deserves.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
09/28/07
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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