Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007

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Lucky You poker film released on DVD

Jennifer Harman has a cameo as Shannon Kincaid, a poker player who is busted by Huck Cheever.

By Erin Warner

The highly anticipated - then widely panned - Hollywood feature Lucky You, a poker drama, was released on DVD yesterday.

Producers are no doubt trying to recoup some production costs after a lackluster stopover in theaters.

The film came in sixth in box office earnings on its opening weekend in early May, grossing just $2.5 million, after the release date had been repeatedly pushed back. It was finally given the kiss of death by premiering alongside the summer blockbuster Spider-Man 3.

As far as movies go, Lucky You didn't have the trappings of a box office bomb. The movie had a stellar director in Curtis Hanson, who has enjoyed both commercial and critical success with films such as L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile and In Her Shoes.

Hanson wrote the script with Eric Roth, who also penned screenplays such as Forrest Gump and Munich.

The likeable Drew Barrymore stars as Billie, the love interest of Eric Bana's character, Huck Cheever, a talented but struggling pro player who is at odds with his father. Oscar-winner Robert Duvall plays L.C. Cheever, a poker legend akin to Doyle Brunson but not as friendly or humble.

After the announcement of a few false release dates, Lucky You finally debuted this spring to harsh reviews.

"Staying home and playing solitaire would be two levels more interesting than watching this movie," wrote Kyle Smith of the New York Post.

"A decent movie just wasn't in the cards," opines Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum after using every poker metaphor in the book to slam the movie.

Richard Roeper, the less-famous half of the movie critic duo of Ebert and Roeper, was, however, a fan of Lucky You, giving it the thumbs-up ranking.

"I probably spend about as much time at the poker table as I do in the screening room," said Roeper in his review. "I'm going to be at the World Series this year, so every time one of these real-life poker guys showed up I would be so excited because I would see Sammy Farha or guys like that ...

"There are a lot of poker scenes here. What I liked about it was that it got it right," he said, going on to point out the obvious strategy errors in the James Bond film Casino Royale.

"This movie has sat on the shelf for like two years. It's becoming legendary for never being released. I'm glad it finally saw the light of day."

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