6/17/22 – PG-13 – 1h 36m – Paramount+

Alan: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩

Michelle: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩

Jerry Selbee worked his entire career in the local factory, but does not have enough money saved to live through his forced retirement. Jerry doesn’t take risks with his money. He wouldn’t invest it in the stock market because that has risk. But he discovers an exploit in a lottery game. He calculates that with a large enough bet, he is guaranteed to win. So Jerry buys lottery tickets. Then he recruits his entire small town to buy tickets with him.

Alan: This is a true story and it was amazing to watch.

Michelle: This is a feel good story about a good man using his underappreciated math skills to win the lottery. He doesn’t keep the winnings for himself, instead he shares his strategy and lets the whole town in on his scheme. Watching the town come together made for a fun movie.

Alan: I found the conflict with the Harvard student to be unrealistic. The student was almost a cartoon villain. He was merely aggressive instead of strategic. He bullied people instead of leading them. It was too obvious he was written to be a bad guy, but I think someone in that position would be more diplomatic.

Michelle: You’re right. That was a heavy handed big bad villain. I wonder if there were rivals in real life and how they acted. 

Many of the characters in this movie were not nuanced. It’s a movie you can watch and not think too deeply while you ride the feel good wave of regular folks winning millions and the lottery officials not minding because their system is not illegal.

Alan: This is the story about an underdog who beats the system. It is very satisfying to watch. It is also very funny. I found some of the characterization to be weak. I give it four stars.

Michelle:  This movie delivers light, feel good entertainment. Four stars.