What a rollercoaster!
The Luckiest Man in America is about a guy who goes on a morning game show and becomes the record-breaking biggest winner in the show’s history. Going into the film, I was like, sounds interesting, but I’m not sure if it’s enough drama for a full movie. Oh, it’s plenty of drama, enough and more.
Michael Larson shows up for auditions to his favourite morning quiz show. My sympathy was with him instantly, because on sight I was like, oh, this guy’s autistic af. My wee heart went out to him, standing in a tshirt and shorts looking as uncomfortable as all get-out, and all these slick casting executives laughing up their sleeves at his honest sincerity and over-eager enthusiasm for the show. It was the 80s too, so all anybody understands him as is ‘off’.
They tell him to come back the next day in a smart jacket with a trimmed beard and combed hair. So he does come back the next day with a trimmed beard, combed hair and smart jacket . . . and the same shorts. My auty from another hotty, I see you.
What the film does really well is keep you off-balance with Michael himself. The executives start scrambling as the numbers he’s winning just keep racking up, and they start digging into who exactly this guy is. He says he’s a down-on-his-luck middle-aged ice cream truck driver with a wife and kids at home, but is everything as above-board as he’s painting it? Is he cheating somehow? Is he a scammer?
The film does an excellent of job of keeping you guessing through the twists and turns of the story, as those who hold the purse strings scramble to manage the unstoppable train of Michael’s wins. Just a really well-told little tale.