Finally, a movie for everyone who read Shirley Jackson鈥檚 and wished it had been a comedy.
Paul Feig鈥檚 is a farcical twist on an old story that, if it doesn鈥檛 remind people of Jackson's short story will surely sound familiar to those who enjoyed 鈥淭he Purge鈥� and its sequels. In a near-future California, buying a lottery ticket enters you a chance to win billions. But there鈥檚 a catch.
Everyone else is free to try to kill the winner and take the prizemoney. The 鈥渨inner鈥� has until sundown to survive and keep their money. The only rule: No guns. Hovering drones keep an eye on winners, helping violent mobs find their way to him or her. This state-sponsored Hunger Game is the new low for a government depleted of funds. Meanwhile, the local TV news chipperly announces a few new billionaires every day.
My principle disappointment with 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� is that they didn鈥檛 go with a title like 鈥淢ega Murders鈥� or its original name: 鈥淕rand Theft Lotto.鈥� This is a very high concept for a comedy, one that Feig and screenwriter Rob Yescombe lean into to craft a mildly entertaining, streaming-only comedy that鈥檚 only a touch less disposable than a losing Powerball ticket.
Mostly, 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� is an action-comedy vehicle that pairs and for a romp through a few clever economic inequality gags and a lot of cartoonish mayhem. At the least, it's a more satirical, silly take on a dystopian genre that usually receives more somber treatments. 鈥淢ockingjay 鈥� Part 1" certainly never had John Cena trying to stomp out a groin on fire.
鈥淛ackpot!,鈥� which debuts Thursday on Prime Video, stars Awkwafina as Katie Kim, a former child actor who, out of midlife desperation, has returned to Los Angeles in 2030 to try to break back into the movie business. A Hollywood where half the town is out for blood is, of course, not such a far-fetched, futuristic concept. That backdrop of raging competitiveness is a running gag in 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� Katie is at an audition when she鈥檚 announced as the lottery winner, immediately sending the other auditioning actors after her head.
As the quickly forming mob closes in on Katie, a pinstripe suit-clad man comes to the rescue, pledging to protect her for a 10% fee. Noel Cassidy (John Cena) is his name, and, as the two make their getaway, a buddy comedy ensues. Aside from the main task of staying alive, the abiding tension of the movie is how much Katie can trust Noel, and why this very sincere special agent is so dedicated to saving lives. Not only does Noel keep Katie from harm, he makes sure to put a helmet on anyone鈥檚 head before kicking them out of a moving car.
Awkwafina鈥檚 sarcasm plays well off Cena鈥檚 nice-guy earnestness. In one scene, she says he looks like 鈥渁 bulldog that a witch cast a spell on and turned into a human.鈥� Any comedy with her in the lead role has a fairly high floor, yet 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� never pays off. It鈥檚 amiably disordered but the high-concept always feels like a ridiculous goof, and its predictable machinations grow increasingly tiresome. Still, this is the rare film where you can say Machine Gun Kelly (whose panic room comes in handy for Katie and Noel) is a surprisingly perfect tonal fit. (Later, a turtlenecked Simu Liu turns up as the smarmy head of a larger, better funder protection agency.)
Feig, the director of 鈥淏ridesmaids,鈥� 鈥淪py,鈥� 鈥淭he Heat鈥� and 2016鈥檚 鈥淕hostbusters,鈥� may be more adept at balancing broad comedy and action sequences than any other working filmmaker. But the big-screen comedy heyday he was once so central to has largely faded in recent years, as studios have grown disappointingly reluctant to gamble with laughs in theaters. It鈥檚 hard not to see 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� 鈥� which pales next to Feig's better films 鈥� as an example of this diminished era for theatrical comedies. Then again, as Awkwafina notes in 鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� Hollywood stardom isn鈥檛 what it once was. Now, she says, even wrestlers and YouTubers can do it.
鈥淛补肠办辫辞迟!鈥� an Amazon Studios release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for pervasive language, violence, and sexual references. Running time: 104 minutes. Two stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
