The Luckiest Man in America

The Luckiest Man in America was a fascinating watch for me, especially because it's based on a true story I hadn't heard before. It follows a man who managed to con his way onto a game show and ended up getting incredibly lucky while on it. I was completely unfamiliar with the real-life event or the man at the center of it, which made the film all the more intriguing.

What really grabbed my attention was how quickly the story pulled me in. It's one of those movies where, as soon as it ends, you immediately want to Google the real events to find out what actually happened. And in this case, there's a surprising amount of additional bizarre and fascinating information about the guy that didn't make it into the film.

As for the movie itself, I'd call it a solid one-time watch. It presents an unusual slice of 1980s history in an entertaining way. It's not necessarily a film you'd revisit, but it succeeds in shining a light on a quirky, forgotten moment in pop culture. You watch it, think "Well, that was interesting," and move on-now I'm a little more informed about one of the oddest stories to come out of the game show world.

Saw this at a TIFF screening last night, theatre completely sold out. The film itself is a pretty nice 90-minute film mostly sitting on one set. While the film does have a really strong premise, it most definetly loses its steam in the latter acts due to its lack of understanding of where to go. I really adored Paul Walter Hauser in this, but his character felt severly underwritten- it sorta seemed like he was many things for a long time and yet, he just turned out to be a normal pretty intelligent man. They kept alluding to something big was going to happen at the end with a twist, but it never comes, leaving an odd sour taste in my mouth as the credits rolled. But its still a very enjoyable casual wednesday night watch.

Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) is an out of work ice cream van driver who has entered the popular U. S. quiz show Press Your Luck hosted by Peter Tomarken (Walter Goggins). After a weak start he starts winning and winning and the executives including the boss, Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn) start to assume he is up to something.

This is an interesting, heavily overdramatised true story featuring a good central performance from master of eccentrics Hauser and fine support from Goggins and the ever wonderful Straithairn. What drives this is trying to understand how he's doing it and why, which is hardly difficult to work out. That's fine but the clear dramatic license with the story rather stretches this into territory where it's hard to buy into / believe everything. Good performances though.

Luckiest Man in America is a textbook case of wasted potential. You've got a talented cast firing on all cylinders-delivering nuanced, emotionally sharp performances that deserved way better material. But the story? It drags like a flat tire on a cross-country road trip.

The pacing is glacial, the plot feels like it's searching for meaning in all the wrong places, and by the halfway mark, you're not wondering what happens next-you're wondering how much longer you have to sit through it. It's less "luckiest man in America" and more "audience stuck in narrative limbo."

To be fair, the performances alone kept this from dropping into total disaster territory. But great acting can only do so much when the story they're trapped in is meandering, repetitive, and about as gripping as a lukewarm cup of decaf.

Verdict: Strong cast, weak script. If you're watching for the actors, sure-just don't expect them to save the movie from itself.

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!