As a seasoned critic with over three decades of film-watching under my belt, I must say that Jackpot! left me feeling more like a loser than the characters themselves. This is a movie that squanders its potential, much like a lottery ticket that turns out to be a dud.
I find myself inclined to appreciate any film that kicks off with Dolly de Leon shooting Seann William Scott in the forehead using a cattle gun, but the latest Amazon Prime production titled “Jackpot!” falls short of its promising initial scenes. It’s surprising, given that this film hails from director Paul Feig, who has delivered successful movies like “Bridesmaids“, “The Heat“, and “Spy>”. The talented Awkwafina and versatile John Cena are also part of the cast. (Unfortunately, Scott and de Leon only make brief appearances.) However, it appears to tap into these actors’ less appealing tendencies, offering humorless jokes, action comedy that relies more on pace than visual intelligence, and a bewildering plot that seems overly eager to clarify itself at every turn.
As a dedicated cinephile, I’m thrilled to share my thoughts on the captivating film titled “Jackpot!” Set in a chilling near-future Los Angeles where a unique lottery twist emerges – once the winner is announced, anyone can attempt to claim their prize by eliminating the winner, but they cannot use firearms (only cattle guns and various melee weapons like baseball bats, knives, meat cleavers, axes, tasers, etc.).
These initial scenes, with the clueless Katie wondering why everyone’s trying to kill her and Noel helping demolish her would-be murderers, do incorporate some fun stunts, which might lead you to think you’re watching a light, amiably dumb comedy. But as the story “develops,” it becomes clear that the filmmakers don’t have a lot of ideas here, save for occasional non sequitur jokes (some of them improvised, if the blooper reels over the closing credits are anything to go by) and constant shots of ordinary people suddenly pulling out weapons at the sight of Katie (a gag that stops being funny after maybe the seventh time it happens). Beyond that, it’s mostly just endless, incoherent scenes of poorly choreographed mayhem with brief time-outs for awkwardly placed and thinly written bits of emotional shading that somehow make the whole enterprise feel even more phony and cynical.
Indeed, these quick-forgotten streaming comedies are often graded based on a unique scale, given their role as background entertainment during daily tasks like laundry or catching up on sports news. However, “Jackpot!” is so relentlessly loud and frenetic that it fails to allow for mental escape, instead causing irritation. The narrative necessitates every character acting foolishly, with Katie being blissfully unaware, and Noel, a brutish yet kind-hearted simpleton, maintaining a constant dazed expression. Supporting characters, such as Katie’s irritating Airbnb host, Shadi (Ayden Mayeri), and her even more bothersome boyfriend, DJ (Donald Elise Watkins), are particularly grating. It seems the actors are following directorial instructions to portray their roles in this manner. Interestingly, Simu Liu’s portrayal of a sleazy tech bro offers some intrigue to his repugnant character, making him the only standout among the cast.
The main issue with the movie “Jackpot!” (other than the poor direction, the lack of humor, and the annoying characters) lies in its underlying cynicism which seems rather thoughtless and bold for a film to portray. It’s not hard to imagine that Feig drew inspiration from Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” before embarking on this project. However, in Judge’s intentionally offensive critique (which grows more relevant and concerning over time), our collective boorishness and foolishness was the central theme. In contrast, “Jackpot!” uses these attacks on the general public as devices to further the film – they are cheap ploys meant to attract viewers with its unoriginal action sequences and humor that falls flat.
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2024-08-15 23:53