IMDb user comments for
Lucky Numbers (2000)

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63 comments in total

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Fair black comedy, 1 July 2001

Author: kenandraf from Honolulu,Hawaii

This movie desperately needed better screenplay and better ending to it.Fair black comedy though becouse of the great cast and the powers of Travolta and Kudrow.Unfairly cut down by many critics.It is worth a watch as long as you do not expect a classic which I'm sure most knowledgable movie goers will not.The director shoud have made it more underground and less mainstream given the style chosen to do this film.......

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
I Walked Out of the Theatre -- TWICE!, 27 October 2000

Author: 49235781 from Saskatchewan, Canada

Taking advantage of the Cineplex's "free pop refill", I exited the theatre once to get my self another large vat of cola to continue what up to that point had been an sometimes funny comedy of errors, but when I returned things simply stopped being funny.

Its like watching Adam Sandler's "The Waterboy" -- ooooh, I can talk in a funny accent... listen to me talk in a funny accent! I'm funnnnny in a funnnny accent. It gets tired after a while.

The same goes for John Travolta in this dozer of a flick --- oooh, I'll mug and say "gosh golly gee, how can this be happening to me."

But its not only on the comedy where Lucky Numbers fails to produce results... its also the day and age the film is set in. It seems the production assistant was totally oblivious to any sence of time or continuity in this film... we watch as weatherman Russ' blue screen goes from being blue to black to blue and black... all in one scene... its changing with every shot too -- not like theres time for some "off camera action" to make the change occur. Or how about the use of a modern (post-90's) Denny's sign off the top of the film???? Or how about the scene where John and another character are standing in the middle of the road talking... a semi is coming up behind them, they cross the street, but the semi never does cross the screen!!! These are simply a small handful of technical gaffes which in my mind take the film even lower, since there isn't much of a plot to look at so YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE!

Save your money, this movie's a sleeper, and go do something better with your time --- this film simply doesn't payoff.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Unbalanced comedy that manages to entertain, but just barely., 7 February 2003
Author: TxMike from Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

It was refreshing to see Travolta play a reluctant, unsophisticated crook for a change. Here he is a small TV station weatherman, adored by all the locals, and who also has a snowmobile dealership. The year is 1988 and the winter is unseasonably warm. No snowmobiles are being sold, and his home is about to be repossessed. He needs money but his boss is refusing this time.

some SPOILERS FOLLOW - Small time numbers man (Tim Roth) suggests he stage a theft, and get the insurance money, "That money is yours, they are using your insurance premiums and earning interest on it." That fails miserably, he gets deeper in debt, this time to a burglar, and has to do something really desperate - rig the Pennsylvania lottery so he and his girlfriend (Kudrow) can split the $6.4Million, with the help of a masturbating and asthmatic cousin.

Enough of the details, the scam works, sort of, but the cousin dies, others want their cut, all this time Travolta's character is scared and upset that he would actually do these things. In the end everyone else gets killed or otherwise in trouble, he gets the extremely dumb waitress at Denny's, his favorite breakfast spot, to cash in the ticket and they move to warmer climate of Florida. Sometimes you just have to have a bit of "Luck."

This is the antithesis of all those Travolta movies (Face/Off, Broken Arrow, etc) where he plays the smart criminal who knows all the right moves, well almost all. Here he is not particularly bright, and is a very reluctant participant. I cannot say the movie is good, much of the dialog is haphazard, but it does entertain. With a smarter script, and in the hands of a different director, this premise could have been turned into a much better dark comedy on par with "Analyze That" or "The Whole Nine Yards." As it is, "Lucky Numbers" can entertain but its appropriate rating is around "5" or "6", about where the IMDb numbers are clustering now.

The DVD is just OK, and the extras are not worth mentioning. Good light entertainment, if you are in the mood to be very forgiving of a bad script.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A guilty pleasure, 20 August 2002

Author: CommonSns1 from Michigan

Picture this.... a room that is full of people and only one of them has any redeeming values whatsoever but that person is patently unlikable. If this sounds like it might be a fun story, you're right. I enjoyed this movie on the simplest and most shallow level. It's no great spellbinder, there is no big surprise, but it moves along nicely and had be laughing out loud on a consistent basis. The performances were good with each character convincingly revolting. This movie is on my "Own It" list. Not because it is a masterpiece but because it managed to entertain me its entire length. I recommend this guilty pleasure to anyone who isn't too wrapped up in pretending they are a movie critic for PBS.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Not great, but good for a few laughs, 28 February 2001
Author: Mojo-24 from Washington, DC

Do not go into this movie expecting sheer hilarity. Do not go into this movie expecting character development. Do not go into this movie expecting realism or a positive portrayal of Harrisburg, PA and its residents. If you can do that, you might be able to enjoy this for what it is- an unrealistic situation comedy with a couple of surprises and laughs. Think "Disorganized Crime" with more humor. Travolta is actually fairly low-key, Kudrow is not as annoying as I expected, and decent cameos/supporting performances by Ed O'Neill, Darryl Mitchell & Bill Pullman (as good cop/bad cop), Michael Moore (!?!), and Tim Roth. Set your expectations low and you should enjoy it.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
This is one lottery to avoid !, 31 October 2000

Author: MovieDave (davida719@yahoo.com) from Somerset County, NJ

Nothing says scheming television weather man like John Travolta. Trust me, my sarcasm is well warranted. This movie misses the mark terribly. Even a cast featuring John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow could not make this picture worth seeing. The plot was overly simplistic at best, accompanied by an ending that can best be explained as lazy and incomplete. I left the theatre with only one question, What has happened to John Travolta's choice of movie roles ? Does anyone remember "Battlefield Earth" ? Need I say more...

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
What would you do if you win in the lottery?, 31 October 2005

Author: Jessica Kolk from Brazil

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I was surprised to notice how many famous personalities are in this film! To start Lisa Kudrow and Jonh Travolta, but also Bill Pullman,Ed O'Neill,Daryl Mitchell and even Michael Moore! (this last one was really a surprise to me, I could not imagine Michael Moore as an actor!) The soundtrack is also great. (Queen rules!)

The year is 1988.The weatherman, Russ Richards (Jonh Travolta)is broke,since he's borrowed heavily to open a snowmobile dealership. But he has a big problem: The temperature is not helping, and he didn't sell any snowmobile. One day his pal Gig,owner of a strip tease club, advises him to run an insurance scam. But it failed, and Russ only get more problems, specially with Dale, the guy contracted to destroy Russ's store. The funniest thing is that Russ is getting more and more problems,specially after he makes a deal with Crystal, the woman that works in the lottery and TV.

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What decent scripts did Hollywood pass over for this melange?, 9 May 2008

Author: et_tu_Brute from Brisbane, Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This script film is just plain bad and embarrassing for all concerned. The Director, Nora Ephron, notable for putting out a decent script or two (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seatle et al), surely must have recognised this scrip for the dog it is. I had to wait for the 2nd 30 minutes or so before I could see a laugh coming and when they did they were mediocre at best. However, my optimism was challenged, because by the time the last 30 minutes of the film came to fruition, it looked as though the cast were just keen to see the end of it and so was I. The writer, Adam Resnick, would have been better off developing the plot into a 5 minute skit for "Saturday Night Live", and I am being generous at best here. The end credits should have been all listed as "Alan Smithee" for the production crew. It really had me wondering one thing though.... What decent scripts did Hollywood pass over for this melange to escape the net?

If you enjoyed the film, good for you.

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Not what I expected, 27 October 2000

Author: smjcjdj from Ashburn, Virginia

I was disappointed with this movie. I expected alot more from John Travolta. Lisa Kudrow's role was just an upscaled 'Phoebe' from Friends. It had a few laugh moments, but more not than so. This one will be at Blockbusters soon.

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Could have been funnier, 27 October 2000

Author: Ames-3 from Missouri

The story was good, the directing was good, the writing was fair. In an effort to bring many characters together, well, it fell flat. Also, the comedic timing wasn't there. Some funny lines. Wait till it's on video

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