The Luckiest Man in America: An Unambitious True Story Thriller

The Luckiest Man in America, a new film based on the true story of one of the most famous game show scandals, premiered with little fanfare at this past year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The story follows Michael Larson (Hauser), an unemployed ice cream truck driver who gets the chance of a lifetime to be on ‘Press Your Luck’. When he hits an unbelievable winning streak on the show, the producers found themselves wondering if he’s rigged the game and what his true motives are. Undoubtedly, a fascinating true story worthy of the big screen, it delivers plenty of intrigue and drama attached as it offers audiences a window into Larson’s family life in real time. The story is a tragic tale, but not in the way one might expect. Films like Slumdog Millionaire or even The Social Network have cinematically adapted true stories onto the big screen, finding the drama and pathos within these stories. In this case, the film, while it tries to be heightened in its emotional structure, fails to reach those great heights.

Here, Hauser delivers a terrific performance here, giving a lot to the script that isn’t on paper. Giving a lot of pathos to Larson, he makes him easy to root for but also, somehow off putting all at the same time. Meanwhile, the film utilizes its setting in inventive ways, cutting to different aspect ratios to depict what was being shown on screen vs. what the atmosphere must have felt like in real life. However, what the film is lacking is a real strong screenplay. Though it may be engaging enough, it also bring anything incredibly new to the table. Similarly, the final outcome comes off as a bit hollow simply for the fact that it does not give audiences nearly enough to attach to on an emotional level attach to because of its limited structure, taking place over the course of an episode of ‘Press Your Luck.’ It feels purposefully detached, which is also detriment to the film overall.

Film shouldn’t always have to reinvent the wheel but they should at least make an effort to stand out from their contemporaries. In the end, Hauser’s performance is what hold the film together and keeps it entertaining to watch. It is easy to follow plotting wise, but its fascination with its true story inspiration is what resonates the most. Additionally, the film fails to add anything new in terms of thematic depth. Audiences can basically refer to a Wikipedia article about the events of this film and get the same amount of depth that was added here. While the era accurate production design of the game show studio is nice to see, one can’t help but have wanted more from the story itself.

Opting for a more ambiguous and open-ended ending, this choice proved to make the journey, one that is very formal in presentation, feel hollow. Inevitably, a sense of ‘that was it?’ will set in as the last few minutes approach. While life doesn’t always conclude in three acts, the film would have been better served had it been accompanied by at least some sort of satisfactory conclusion. At the end of the day, The Luckiest Man in America isn’t an awful film by any means, but it is one that could have been a lot better. It just lacks in the way of ambition, resulting in a film that is nothing more than passable. Above all else, it isn’t to say that the film was not without talent, they are merely looking for something to grab onto that wasn’t there.

still courtesy of Vortex Media

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Brett Schutt

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