Review of LUCKY YOU and celebrity sighting (long).
I saw [i:3ff917840c]Lucky You [/i:3ff917840c]over the weekend. Not a good movie, but there was some good poker in it. Certainly the best poker movie since Rounders.
Don't worry; I'm not going to drop any spoilers here. But Eric Bana plays a budding young Vegas pro with horrible money management skills who hooks up with Drew Barrymore, a singer who is new in town. Their relationship becomes the formulaic doomed lovers story that's been done a thousand times. There is also the formulaic frosty relationship with Bana's absent father, which has been done nearly as often. The father is played by Robert Duvall, one of my favorite actors. He's all right in it, but nothing special.
Anyway, the best part of the movie is when Bana takes Barrymore inside the world of professional poker in Vegas, complete with colorful characters, crazy prop bets, and wads of hundred dollar bills. Lots of recognizable poker pros make cameos during the film, although few of them have lines during the action. Imagine Daniel Negreanu, Sam Farha, Barry Greenstein, and Chau Giang at a poker table together and none of them are saying a word. Jason Lester, who made the final table in the 2003 Main Event is also all over the film, and apparently he was a consultant in the production. He did a good job, as nearly all the poker hands in this film were authentic -- no queens full getting busted by quad jacks.
And there is a surprising amount of poker in this. I'm actually surprised that the producers didn't cut more. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone who isn't a poker fan, but if you like poker, and want to see a movie set against the backdrop of poker in Vegas, this one is worth seeing.
Oh, so I'm in the theater in Plano, sitting toward the front, and this older guy walks in late, and sits down two rows in front of me. About fifteen minutes into the film, his cell phone goes off. Now, unlike a lot of people, I don't blow a gasket when somebody's cell phone goes off in a theater. Some people forget to turn them off, and they ring. No big deal. But this guy TAKES THE CALL. He's only on the phone for like thirty seconds, but still, are you kidding? I decide to confront him about it, but not until after the show. No reason to disturb the other people any further.
So, the show ends, I walk outside, and wait for him. I'm not 100% sure of what he looks like, but I'm pretty sure I can pick him out. Big, older guy in a ballcap, by himself. Then, he comes out, he's already on the phone again, talking. And it's T.J. Cloutier. He's talking to somebody about picking him up at the theater. I was struck by how old and broken-down he was, and it occurred to me that maybe he can't drive anymore. I wait there, but now I'm less pissed and more starstruck. I'm torn between giving him shit about the phone, and saying "I read your book when I was just learning to play tournaments." Finally, I just turned around and walked away. |
