Lucky Girl

Title says it all. Watching gambling films for inspiration. Not bad movie. Recommend Mississippi Grind and Cincinnati Kid but this does show the compulsive nature of gamblers and casting oddly makes the story more believable. Worth the watch.

Suspense drama about a young innocent high school girl (though she still tends to be a rather smart-a$$ throughout the whole film) from a middle-class family, who causes friction for the rest of her family and classmates by developing an increasingly obsessive gambling habit, and eventually winds up in the clutches of a rather sadistic loan shark....not bad for a made-for-T. V., which was produced in Canada.

Katlin Palmerston (Elisha Cuthbert) is a math-whiz high school student from a middle class home. She starts gambling to save up for an European trip with best friend Cheryl. She takes money from the girls at poker and the boys with football. She even sets up her own betting pool. With a run of bad luck and bad bets, she is in deep trouble. Popular girl Janice's sketchy brother Ron Lunderman sets up a poker game. Katlin wins big and starts dating Ron. The computer gambling continues and everything spirals out of control. She borrows from the wrong couple and they have a creepy way to settle the debt. Her mother (Sherry Miller) rides to the rescue.

This is very much a lesson-filled movie of the week. It's basic and overtly dramatic. There is an inevitability to the plot. Elisha Cuthbert is what shines in this movie. She shows her beauty and her charisma. She's also young enough and pretty close to the 17 year old character. It helps to make it more real and visceral. The last act is quite creepy and unforgettable. It would help to have more original twists but this is strictly a "very special episode" of whatever teen soap.

This movie proves an old and wasted theory. A good cast promises a great movie. Hollywood always tries to do such thing like in Ocean's Eleven. Put every actor in it and you have a 100 million dollar movie. Lets put Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts (The Mexican) in a flick and its guaranteed. Well, both of those movies are not good, they are what I like to call COMMERCIAL MOVIES. The Lucky Girl was shot in Canada with low budget for T.V . It has an amazing cast that don't need to say cheasy lines to get a reaction. Their non - verbal communication, (faces and gestures they make) is breathtaking. You can sense the desperation Elisha Cutbeth feels, is is IS........SO GOOD! It truly was a wonderful experience that made me stay up till 4 in the morning.

It's good to see a T.V movie that has plot and great GREAT GREAT ACTING_!

I happened to watch this TV movie when I surfed my cable TV and I saw Elisha Cuthbert starred the screen.As I recognized her from Popular Mechanics series,I decided to watch the movie.It was one of the righteous moves I had ever made in term of watching movies.The quality surpasses some of the dramas produced in Tinseltown.The plot is though simple,but the mood and feel will haunt you right into your mind.Being a girl who was addicted to gambling and gone spiraling downwards,Elisha has proved to me that she is a great actress and worth to be given credits.The supporting casts are just amazing and credible,it seems that they lived just next door of your home for some reason.The ending is just captivating in my opinion,it is just.Sadly,I have only seen it once and would like to have a copy of the movie.A haunting movie that was beautifully made.Being in my list of THE movie to watch before you die.Two words,brilliant,wonderful 10.5/10