'Lucky You': Two of a kind

Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana star in this hit-and-miss drama.

from the May 4, 2007 edition

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That exception centers on Huck's poker legend father L.C., who is also in Vegas to compete in the World Series of Poker. As played by Robert Duvall, he lifts the movie – and Bana – every moment he's on screen.

The good-bad blood between father and son is the central crutch propping up "Lucky You," but Duvall has such bone-deep authenticity in the role that he made me forget how schematic the scenario is. (At one point Billie offers L.C. one of her many helpful tidbits: "Giving and receiving is more complicated than winning and losing.") When Huck is around his father, he loses the glint in his eyes – not dramatically, but just enough to let us know his guard is down. The scenes between Duvall and Bana take their rightful place as the emotional high point of the movie.

Most gambling films, the ambitious ones anyway, go overboard in trying to turn the sport into a metaphor for life. Although it is shot very simply, "Lucky You" mainlines the metaphor stuff to its detriment.

But Hanson does some marvelous work around the edges. He displays the funky, rundown aspects of Vegas rather than the glitz. He peoples the landscape with intriguing oddball supporting players, like an unctuous phone call-in psychologist (Robert Downey Jr.) or a jokester buddy (Saverio Guerra) who, on a bet, has received silicone implants.

Even though the film features high-wire high rollers and culminates in a championship showdown, at its best it's refreshingly offhanded. It's a hit-and-miss movie that's worth seeing for the hits. Grade: B

• Rated PG-13 for some language and sexual humor.

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