Lay the Favorite (2012)

Ex-private dancer Beth aspires to be a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, when she falls in with Dink, a sports gambler. Sparks fly as she proves to be something of a gambling prodigy--much to the ire of Dink's wife, Tulip.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

D.V. DeVincentis (screenplay), Beth Raymer (memoir)

Stars:

Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rebecca Hall	...	Beth
Joel Murray	...	Darren
Hugo Armstrong	...	Customer
Corbin Bernsen	...	Jerry
Earl Maddox	...	Manager
Rio Hackford	...	Magic
Jo Newman	...	Darcy
Laura Prepon	...	Holly
Bruce Willis	...	Dink Heimowitz
Frank Grillo	...	Frankie
Wayne Pére	...	Scott (as Wayne Péré)
Adam Kozlowski	...	Rio Gambler 1
Al Brown	...	Old Gambler
Thom Sesma	...	Young Guy
Rusty Meyers	...	Rio Gambler 2

Storyline

Beth, who lap dances to make ends meet, leaves Florida for Las Vegas hoping to be a cocktail waitress. She meets two women who introduce her to Dink, a gambler with a system. He hires her - she's good with numbers - and she promptly falls for him, even though he's married to a woman who seems to do nothing but spend his money. Beth tries to entice Dink whose wife, Tulip, tells him to choose; he does and promptly goes on a losing streak. The repercussions of his choice play out with a heavy gambler who has a parole officer, a cheesy bookmaker in Curaçao, Beth's desire to keep a friend out of prison, and help from an unlikely source.

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Plot Keywords:

gambler | waitress | losing streak | cocktail waitress | money | 

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Taglines:

How far can a losing shot take you?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, brief drug use, and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Doble o nada

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,350,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$20,998 (USA) (7 December 2012)

Gross:

$20,998 (USA) (7 December 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emmett/Furla Films, Wild Bunch, Random House Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Weinstein Company acquired distribution rights for just over $2 million.

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Goofs

During the televised basketball game in the closing minutes of the film, the storyline is that the game is down to no time left on the clock, and the NJ player, Reedmore, has the chance to make 2 foul shots to beat LA. When the baseline camera focuses on the player's face, though, the time clock over the hoop at the other end of the court is visible, and the clock plainly reads 6:40 left in the game.

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Quotes

Dink Heimowitz: ...you don't take the favorite, you lay the favorite.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Lay the Favorite (2012)

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Soundtracks

Unskinny Bop
Written by C.C. Deville (as Johannesson), Bobby Dall (as Kuykendall), Bret Michaels (as Sychak), Rikki Rockett (as Ream)
Performed by Poison

User Reviews

not very good

Rebecca Hall does an excellent job as a naive bookie in Lay. The other actors, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Vince Vaughn are great in their supporting roles, but.... This movie was poorly written: the jokes fall flat, the script doesn't develop enough so that the audience can care about the characters, the gambling is explained only enough so that gamblers can understand what the actors are doing and there is very little plot action that's not inside an office looking at TV screens with sports games on them. Stephen Frears, the director, has done some major work such as "the Queen," and "High Fidelity," and i would think he was brought in to save this, but it's shot so plainly, like a made for TV movie. I get the feeling that this was filmed in a couple weeks and everyone involved wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. I give it 3 out of 10 for Rebecca Hall's efforts and the fact that she comes off as incredibly sexy, but other then that, it's totally forgettable.