The Luckiest Man in America

This film is a dramatization of a game show scandal from the 70s.

A con artist, played by Paul Walter Hauser, appears on the game show Press Your Luck and shocks the audience and producers with his winning streak. This ultimately leads to backstage turmoil and cheating revelations.

We've seen this before in the gold standard "Quiz Show" and more recently "Perfect Bid." This failed to keep me as interested as those two compelling films did.

I think the problem lies in Hauser's portrayal. The character's affect is so odd and off putting that it's a wonder he was chosen for the show to begin with let alone have an entire audience rooting for him. To be fair, I don't know what the real man was like, but I expected a professional con man to be more smooth. The relationship with his daughter and ex wife was also underdeveloped and gave little insight into the man behind the madness.

It's mildly entertaining at best. I saw it at my local theater at the one showing they had but this is an absolute wait for streaming kind of film.

Let me take you back to 1984. Michael Larson, an AC repair man and ice cream truck driver, ends up on the game show Press Your Luck. THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA tells this true story. Michael (Paul Walter Hauser) keeps winning, with no end in sight. This causes everybody at CBS to panic in their own ways, including the host Peter Tomarken (Walton Goggins), the producer Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn), his assistant Chuck (Shamier Anderson), and the show's assistant Sylvia (Maisie Williams). This movie is entertaining from start to finish. Hauser is amazing yet again as a character who is socially awkward. When you look at him, you can't shake the feeling that something's off. Goggins is always great in everything he does, no surprise there. The tension builds as the movie goes on, highlighted by the score and by Hauser's body language. Not knowing what actually happened back then, I had no idea where it was going. My one problem was the ending. It seemed abrupt and I'm not sure if it's because of the low budget, but I would've liked to have a little more finality to it. I do recommend staying during the credits though. Overall, THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA is a very entertaining historical moment brought back into the light of day with a great ensemble cast, seemingly accurate enough to what actually happened at the time. I recommend it wherever you can find it!

Film: "The Luckiest Man in America" 🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷🐷 had its moments piglets!

(6/10 me) (6/10 Marilee)

Another one that looked really good. I have to admit, I did not know the true story and the events that surrounded it. Great idea for a movie. Groggins and Hauser were fantastic. I am a huge fan of both of those actors.

It's one of those movies where the audience, at times, cannot tell what is being presented as reality or what is a fantasy in some characters head. It makes it all the more confusing.

We rented it. I suggest you wait till it comes to a streaming outlet to watch it for free.

Just average.

The list of things that didn't happen is way longer than the list of things that actually happened, and the stuff that actually happened is far more interesting.

Yes, Michael did go on the show and win big by memorizing the patterns on the board. But that's where the true part ends. Everything else that happened, him wandering on to another talk show, breaking into his truck and watching tapes, calling his wife and putting her on the show, the list goes on.

The movie is well cast, but not well written. If you want to watch a more interesting telling of the story, go watch "Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal"

"The Luckiest Man In America" is the true 1984 tale of Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser - strong again) who blagged his way onto the tv game-show 'Press Your Luck' (hosted by Walton Goggins) to rack up monster winnings - and make the show's staff (inc David Strathairn, Maisie Williams, & Shamier Anderson) suspect that something was amiss. It's fascinating fare, well made (by second-time director Samir Oliveros who co-wrote this his first screenplay with second-time writer Maggie Briggs) with the likes of Johnny Knoxville & Haley Bennett in minor support - tho it'll leave most asking Google to complete Larson's story for them. It's a good movie... just a little thin.