Lucky You - Preview

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Rated: PG-13

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: 2007-05-04

Starring: Eric Bana (Huck Cheever), Drew Barrymore (Billie Offer), Robert Duvall (L.C. Cheever), Debra Messing, Kelvin Han Yee (Chico Banh)

Directed by Curtis Hanson

Produced by Denise Di Novi, Carol Fenelon, Curtis Hanson

Written by Eric Roth, Curtis Hanson

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Previewed by Josh Tyler : 2007-02-06 02:17:59

Drama. In the world of high-stakes poker, Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) is a blaster—a player who goes all out, all the time. But in his personal relationships, Huck plays it tight, expertly avoiding emotional commitments and long-term expectations. When Huck sets out to win the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker and the affections of Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), a young singer from Bakersfield there is one significant obstacle in his path: his anger toward his father, L.C. Cheever (Robert Duvall), the poker legend who abandoned Huck's mother years ago. As these two rivals progress toward a final showdown at the poker table, Huck learns that to win in the games of life and poker, he must try to play cards the way he has been living his life and live his life the way he has been playing cards.

Poker was huge a few years ago, and this is probably when Lucky You should have come out. It�s now on the way to becoming sort of pass� as people slowly reawaken to the realization that like all gambling, it�s nothing more than a great way to throw away your money. Is poker still a big draw? Sure, after all gambling is an addiction and those people who started playing a few years ago in the big poker wave are, like five-packs-a-day smokers, hooked. The problem is that by now they�re out of money, and probably don�t have enough left to buy a ticket for Bana�s poker flick.

The film seems like a strange choice for Eric Bana to follow up something so heavy and poignant as Munich with. He�s jumping from terrorism to championship poker playing. Where�s the connection? The connection is Eric Roth, who scripted Spielberg�s hastily shot Munich.

Roth is a veteran Hollywood writer, whose work you�ve seen spouted from the mouths of actors in movies like Ali, The Horse Whisperer, and Forest Gump. He knows how to put together a big, high-profile picture and from his track record there�s reason to expect Lucky You to be another quality notch on his keyboard.

Roth�s new notch is being directed by Curtis Hanson, who worked miracles with Eminem to turn 8 Mile into one of the best movies of 2002. In 2005 he had another big box office and critical success with In Her Shoes, where he harnessed the annoyingness of Cameron Diaz for good. Before any of that, he was the man behind L.A. Confidential, where he convinced us that Kim Basinger was maybe a good actress. We�ve since learned we were pretty wrong about Kim, but it�s clear that if Curtis Hanson is anything, he�s a man who knows how to get the best out of people.

Lucky You should be a cakewalk for Hanson, who for the first time in a long time finds himself with a cast of talented, professional actors ready and waiting for his direction. This should be like a vacation for him after fighting through Eminem and Cameron. It may sound like a clich� poker movie, but with Hanson at the helm expect something much better.

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