Lucky You

As far as playing or watching poker on television, I can take it or leave it, and I enjoyed this movie.... so I can imagine poker fans will really LOVE this film. It gives justice to their "sport" with realistic hands, playing, situations and attitudes.

Often, I thought something hokey was going to happen, something predictable but rarely did that occur in this film. You really never knew what was going to happen and suspense builds for a number of gambling scenes. I hesitate to say more for fear of spoiling anything. Suffice to say, the gambling scenes in here were very realistic. I know what from the behind-the- scenes bonus features in which a number of real-life professional players commented on that fact.

The film follows a father-and-son team (Eric Bana and Robert Duvall playing "Huck" and "L.C. Cheever") with a small romance sub-plot involving Drew Barrymore. It isn't just all about poker, although that's most of it - culminating in the World Series of Poker - but about the mentality of people who make gambling their life.

This film was far better than I figured it would be, and was rewarding in the end without being predictable. It was fairly low-key, too, in the profanity and sex department, but kids would be bored with this film, anyway.

This movie will mainly attract card players, I'm afraid, and that's too bad because it offers a lot more than that. The movie got better as it went along and wound up a good two hours of entertainment.

If gambling and poker interests you, then you will love this film. Otherwise, it's too long and in some parts boring because there are so many long card playing scenes. Did the movie have to show so many hands of poker being played for us to follow the story? Eric Bana plays a gambler who wins some but loses a lot. His father, Robert Duval, is a world famous gambler. Duval is fabulous as usual in his role. Drew Barrymore plays the girl Bana pursues. He "borrows" money from her and gets in the dog house but alls well in the end. There are a few funny parts where his friend sets up silly wagers. Like staying in a bathroom and the whole run/golf bet. The climax is the world poker tournament and whether or not Bana can win it.

FINAL VERDICT: I like the actors in this, but I don't know anything about poker, so didn't follow that part with the checking and table tapping. A little too much of the technical stuff. The card playing should have been shorter. But I still recommend it if you like any of the actors.

Lest be duped by the trailers that make it seem a romantic comedy set in the world of high-stakes gambling, one should approach "Lucky You" as more of a movie about poker with a generous amount of father-son conflict thrown in for good measure. The romantic angle is just an arbitrarily (in fact, awkwardly) placed distraction that sticks out like a sore thumb (hint: Drew Barrymore's character is good for only around 20-30 minutes of this 2-hour movie).

Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) is a regular high-stakes poker player in Las Vegas whose skills in reading body languages of his opponents is hampered by his rashness. Constantly in the shadow of his estranged father L.C. (Robert Duvall), a two-time World Series of Poker champion who never fails to rub in his son's weakness, Huck falls for Billie (Barrymore) - a Vegas newbie who's just got a job singing in a bar. Problem is, Billie's cynicism-free personality clashes with Huck's callous opportunistic character.

And it goes without saying that as cards are dealt and the stakes are raised, there will be some fixings to occur among Huck and the two people around him.

Strangely, after being in projects with involving narratives, director Curtis Hanson and co-writer Eric Roth fail to draw any meaningful yarn with the characters. In fact, "Lucky You" works better when it sets its focus on the poker table, and not trying to deal with any of tepid characterizations. But such ambivalence ultimately leads to a hollow feeling.

For those who enjoy watching poker, it might be a worthy deal (at least the final act). But for anyone else, considering the people involved in this project, it leaves the feeling of an empty hand.

Huck (Eric Bana) is a professional poker player on a losing streak. His near empty house in Las Vegas also sports a pool with no water. As he is pawning a camera and his mother's wedding ring, he is hoping for his luck to change. In truth, he is a great player but does not know when to walk away from a table or a bet. One night, after leaving the gambling establishments, he goes to a local watering hole and meets a nice looking lady named Billie (Drew Barrymore). As she is being pestered by a loser, Huck comes to rescue her from his attentions. They make a connection. However, Billie's sister (Debra Messing) persuades her sibling to walk away, saying she knows Huck well and that he is all hustle and no commitment. Yet, Huck persists and convinces Billie to go on a date After a lovely evening and night together, Huck promptly takes money from Billie's wallet to take to the gaming tables. Ouch. Oh, and Huck's father (Robert Duvall), a prize winning poker player, is back in town to compete in the high stakes games. Will Huck win big? And, will Billie ever speak to him again? This is a good movie with a few flaws. It has a somewhat slow pace and also suffers from some incredulity as far as Huck's poverty despite his obvious great talent for cards. Nevertheless, Bana is certainly a large part of why the film is so worthwhile, as his Huck is a very charismatic person, indeed. Barrymore is probably miscast as Billie, although that is not to say she performs badly, just nondescriptly, as the role does not call for a display of her comic abilities. Then, too, someone decided to give her the hair styles of a bowling alley queen and the costumes of a dork. On the other hand, and surprisingly, the Las Vegas setting looks gorgeous, even away from the sparkling lights. If you like Bana, and who the heck doesn't, you will not want to miss a showing of this movie. Anyone with a hankering for high-stakes poker will be perfectly enthralled as well.

The very sympathetic character of Huck Cheever displays some of the worst compulsive gambler behavior. It's appropriate to the movie and is certainly exhibited by many people who gamble a lot. In fact, it might be the most realistic part of the movie. Unfortunately, the only thing that keeps spouses sane is not knowing

I'm a very frequent poker player and sports bettor, and I enjoyed the movie. But the less intimately acquainted my wife is with the pitfalls of gambling the better she'll sleep. Besides, all the Drew Barrymore scenes really seemed flat to me so it may not even be a very good date movie.