Beth (Rebecca Hall) is an ex private dancer, looking to make it big in Las Vegas. She meets Dink (Bruce Willis) a sports gambler who shows her the ways of betting. Dink gets very close with Beth, much to the ire of Dink's wife Tulip (Catharine Zeta-Jones)
I generally try to respect people's opinions these days. I'm a rather opinionated person myself, so I implore people to speak their minds. But, one thing I can't get my head around is the low rating for this movie, 4.7, huh? Granted, it's not gonna make head spin if you decide to see it, but I thought it had energy and lots of likability to it. Lay The Favorite benefits from a fantastic cast. Gambling is a very touchy subject among people. It's always a risk (No. I didn't use the word gamble, because that would have been a lame pun) when one gambles. Maybe people felt this movie glorified gambling in a way? I don't know. I could see that, but I thought the addition of romance was very much needed here. I would have gotten bored if it was all about gambling. The development of the characters is what made this movie. I thought Bruce Willis brought a fine comedic touch, and genuinely seemed to be interested in the material. His relationship with Rebecca Hall was funny and touching. Willis was quite good here. I cracked up at the mini meltdowns he had. Rebecca Hall is fantastic. Her energetic performance, and her perky style does wonders for this movie, and I had my eyes glued to the screen every moment she was on it. She's sexy, cute, funny, and downright irresistible. She was a main reason as to why I enjoyed this as much as I did. I also enjoyed her love story with Joshua Jackson. Zeta-Jones is OK as Dink's husband. She had a couple of sassy moments here and there. Vince Vaughn is a bit OTT as Rosy, but managed to not get on my nerves, which is a big compliment in his case. The ending seemed totally Hollywood, and contrived. For some reason, I had trouble buying it. It seemed to me like the message was "The risk of gambling is worth it, and if you take risks, you might wind up lucky" That's a minor carp, though.
Final Thoughts: I had a decent time with this film. It passes the time effortlessly, and you won't regret watching it. It's not something I'll ever see again, but I didn't mind it at all, and I think people are really unfair with it.
5.7/10
