Lucky Numbers (2000)

A television weatherman scams a local lottery.

Director:

Nora Ephron

Writer:

Adam Resnick

Stars:

John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Russ Richards
Lisa Kudrow	...	Crystal
Tim Roth	...	Gig
Ed O'Neill	...	Dick Simmons
Michael Rapaport	...	Dale
Daryl Mitchell	...	Det. Chambers
Bill Pullman	...	Det. Pat Lakewood
Richard Schiff	...	Jerry Green
Michael Moore	...	Walter
Sam McMurray	...	Chief Troutman
Michael Weston	...	Larry
Maria Bamford	...	Wendy the Waitress
Caroline Aaron	...	Nurse Sharpling
John F. O'Donohue	...	Bobby (as John F. O'Donahue)
Colin Mochrie	...	Jack

Storyline

Winter, 1988: Harrisburg PA's celebrity weatherman, Russ Richards, is broke: he's borrowed heavily to open a snowmobile dealership, and it's still unseasonably warm. Gig, his seedy pal, advises him to run an insurance scam; when it goes awry, Russ is out another $10,000 and in trouble with Dale, a bat-wielding thug. Gig convinces Russ to rig the state lottery with the help of Crystal, a gold-digging ditz with a heart of tin. They have to find a beard to buy the ticket, and then they have to cash it. Soon, murder and various double-crosses add to Russ's nightmare. A lazy cop zeroes in. Jail is closer than riches. Will Russ have to choose between his money and his life?

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Plot Keywords:

weatherman | lottery | snowmobile | murder | celebrity | 

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Taglines:

When they put their heads together... it's a no brainer.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and brief violence

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Numbers

Filming Locations:

Arcadia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$4,536,625 (USA) (27 October 2000)

Gross:

ESP 6,757,230 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, StudioCanal, Mad Chance

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the commentary, Lisa Kudrow did her own stunt when her character's car goes through the glass at the station (although it didn't look that dangerous anyway).

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Goofs

When Russ pulls onto the main road with the tractor-trailer full of snowmobiles, the wheels of the trailer can be seen steered out to cause it to "jack knife". The wheels of a trailer are fixed in place and cannot be turned left or right.

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Quotes

Dick Simmons: Don't say anything. Not a word. Because if I hear one bullshit comment like, "What's that?" or "What are you talking about?" I'm gonna pick that phone up and call the cops.
Russ: What? Wh-what do you mean?
[Dick goes for the phone]
Russ: It slipped out! Dick, we're listening. Go ahead.

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Connections

Spoofs L.A. Story (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Obsession"
Written by Holly Knight and Michael Des Barres
Performed by Animotion
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group

User Reviews

A guilty pleasure

Picture this.... a room that is full of people and only one of them has any redeeming values whatsoever but that person is patently unlikable. If this sounds like it might be a fun story, you're right. I enjoyed this movie on the simplest and most shallow level. It's no great spellbinder, there is no big surprise, but it moves along nicely and had be laughing out loud on a consistent basis. The performances were good with each character convincingly revolting. This movie is on my "Own It" list. Not because it is a masterpiece but because it managed to entertain me its entire length. I recommend this guilty pleasure to anyone who isn't too wrapped up in pretending they are a movie critic for PBS.