In 2030, after a devastating global recession, the city of Los Angeles launches a deadly “grand lottery”: whoever kills one person before sunset can become a billionaire. When former child actress Katie (Awkwafina) inadvertently becomes the latest candidate, “lottery protector” Noel (John Cena) proves to be her only ally.
After the failed Potter-like fantasy The School for Good and EvilWith this straightforward, entertaining action comedy, Paul Feig is back on relatively solid ground. Jackpot! occupies a similar space as Feig’s spy, Tough girlsor even just a little Bridesmaids: a high-quality action comedy full of wild scenes and fast-paced action sequences.
It is set in the near future and seems like a cross between The Cleansing And It’s a crazy, crazy, crazy world. Aspiring actress Katie (Awkwafina) unknowingly falls into a deadly lottery: whoever murders her becomes a billionaire, which leads to an entertaining, chaotic manhunt on the streets of Los Angeles. If she survives, she is the winner. Only lottery protector Noel (John Cena) can help her – for a portion of her potential winnings.
John Cena is the surprise MVP here, contrasting the muscles of his big biceps with very witty dad humor.
Feig has cited Jackie Chan as an inspiration, and although that is a high, almost impossible bar to reach, Jackpot! has some of his manic, panicked energy, with stunt coordinators James Young and Alex Benevento encouraging a breathless pace. A nice touch is that no guns are allowed in this lottery, leading to increasingly creative weapons of choice – chairs, high heels, mannequin heads – and seemingly everyone in Los Angeles is willing to become a murderer if it means they win the big prize (cheers to a nice little role for Triangle of sadness‘s Dolly De Leon, you better not trust a sweet grandma).
There is some light social commentary on late-stage capitalism and the desperation for quick money; early scenes of poverty and devastation on the streets of Los Angeles suggest a more satirical bent before the script largely abandons any meaningful engagement. Still, it’s nice to see a funny film with at least one half-baked political idea.
But this is primarily a comedy. While Judd Apatow’s approach to “alts” – allowing experienced improvisers to come up with alternate lines on the day itself – seems sloppy and inconsistent at this point, it occasionally bears fruit. Awkwafina is engaging and likable company, handling the jokes as confidently as the pathos. But here it’s Cena who surprisingly becomes the MVP, contrasting his muscular biceps with some very funny, sweet and genuine dad humor (he is, improbably as it may sound, a proud Harry Potter-loving Hufflepuff).
Paul Feig is mostly back on form with his likable, wild, murderous, crazy, money-hungry high-concept comedy. It could be funnier, but it barely gets a chance to breathe.
