Lucky (2011)

A wannabe serial killer wins the lottery and pursues his lifelong crush.

Director:

Gil Cates Jr.

Writer:

Kent Sublette (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Jeffrey Tambor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Hanks	...	Ben Keller
Ari Graynor	...	Lucy St. Martin
Ann-Margret	...	Pauline Keller
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Detective Harold Waylon
Adam J. Harrington	...	Steve Mason
Mimi Rogers	...	Ms. Brand
Allison Mackie	...	Grace
Tom Amandes	...	Jonathan
Michelle Davidson	...	Leslie Singer
Olivia Sather	...	Shannon
Eric Kirchberger	...	Sunny Mart Clerk
Heather Marie Marsden	...	Allison
Bryan McClure	...	Sandwich Guy
Bennett Wright	...	8 year old Ben
Lena Noel Krussel	...	8 year old Lucy (as Lena Krussel)

Storyline

Ben Keller is sort of a bumbler who carries a torch for Lucy, a co-worker he's known since childhood. She's indifferent until he wins $36 million in the Iowa lottery; trouble is, he murdered the young woman who bought the ticket (it's not his first murder), but the mercenary Lucy doesn't discover Ben's secret until their honeymoon. She figures out that he murders women who look like her, so she's probably safe: she'd like to wait for the next lottery check to come in the mail, then run away. Ben knows she knows and wants her to love him anyway. With a police detective sniffing around and Ben's protective mother watching things carefully, can Lucy make a great escape?

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Plot Keywords:

walking into the camera | view from inside mail box | lottery | murder | serial killer | 

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Taglines:

Even a serial killer can win the lottery

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and brief sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Hawaii restaurant and jungle in the movie is Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's indoor Lied Jungle exhibit.

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Goofs

When Grace finds the 2nd check and opens the envelope the check is correctly made payable to Benjamin Keller, however the 'Authorized Signature' is also Ben's name (signature) (which also looks like a handwriting font as the 2 L's and E's in Keller are exactly the same)

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Quotes

Grace: You seem like such nice people. Such nice people!
Ben Keller: We're still nice people, Grace, but we're also in love. And love's kinda scary. I'm starting to realize that now.

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Connections

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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Soundtracks

Calevator
Written by Mason Cooper and Gil Cates Jr.
Performed by CC Calvert

User Reviews

kinda lame effort

I like Colin Hanks. A lot of people just say that he's a complete knock-off of his father but that comment always completely misses the point. His father was darn likable even when being prickly or sarcastic he's still just effortlessly likable. Colin has a similar likability, one that certainly veers more to the prickly or complainy side--but still he's a guy you can either like or at least watch in most things that he appears in and not have a problem with. The casting of him in this movie should've been so perfect--unfortunately the movie itself is way too slow to set its premise up, even slower to get its other main character up to speed with what the audience already knows which kind of kills the suspense that's suppose to be building up. I should single out the other lead in the film--the nicely daffy Ari Gaynor plays her and if the movie works at all i would say its completely because of her ability to show you why she would do the things she does in the movie even if you're sitting there questioning why she would or should, you completely buy her character's motivation and reasoning.

If you're reading this you probably already know the set-up and that's about all there is to know for this movie quite honestly. I was hoping for something a little more funny...or maybe even a little bit darker---the plot was really promising after all but its as if once the idea is established, the writer/director couldn't think of where else to take it other then the usual cat and mouse games that normally occur in these kinds of movies. (will the wife eventually snap? will the husband eventually snap? is the husband even the real killer? is the detective played by a seemingly bored Jeffery Tambor getting ever closer to the 2 of them? and what's the deal with Ann Margaret as Hanks'mother?) All of what happens in the movie happens really slowly until maybe the last ten minutes at which point if you're still watching, you're just trying to figure out how the director is going to wrap it up. The wrap up actually is pretty good--there's even an actual honest to goodness laugh from the delivery of one of the one liners here. (One of the few one liners that completely lands too) Its unfortunate that the director couldn't find this perfect balance in tone between discomfort and humor before the end of the movie but what can you do? movie's already finished at that point. I didn't dislike the film really--but there were scenes where i was more bored then interested in the storyline and that's not a good thing for any kind of movie. Essentialy the film could've done so much more with its plot line that its unbelievable that it doesn't.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Szczęściarz

Filming Locations:

9926 Fieldcrest Dr, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,986, 17 July 2011

Gross USA:

$8,564

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,564

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ten/Four Pictures, Tax Credit Finance, Mirabelle Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color