Jackpot!

I’ve never been much of a fan of Paul Feig’s films.  Bridesmaids was okay at best, The Heat was average, Spy was missable, and the less said about Ghostbusters the better.  On that basis, knowing that he had a new film on the way, I wasn’t that interested.  But with the casting of John Cena and Awkwafina, and the trailer drop, it managed to catch my attention.

Almost playing like a comedy version of The Purge at times, the film is set in the not too distant future of 2030, the financially desperate Californian government create a new deadly Grand Lottery, where a random payer is chosen at random and can win a huge prize if they can survive until sundown.  Other players can claim the prize if they can kill the winner before the time is up, with just one rule – no guns (this is California after  all).  When former child actor Katie (Awkwafina) arrives in Los Angeles, unaware of the lottery, circumstances lead to her activating a ticket-card belonging to the person she is renting a room from, and what do you know – she wins!  All she has to do is stay alive, but seeing as she doesn’t know about the rules, this could prove difficult.  As the world around her descends into chaos, enter Noel Cassidy (Cena), a freelance Lottery protection agent who offers to help keep her alive for a percentage share of the winnings.

Plot wise, this is an extremely predictable affair, with twists and turns so signposted they probably would come up on Google Maps.  But who cares when there is so much fun carnage to be had, and with the screen presence of Cena and ‘Fina forming an unlikely combo that generate a great chemistry over the course of the film.  Cena is always great on screen, especially when he gets to stretch his action chops and comedy chops, and he’s an absolute blast here.  Awkwafina is an acquired taste, and over the past few years I’ve succumbed to her awkward charms, so with her delivering more of her usual approach here I was all for it.  Around the pair the mix of support add to the fun, even if some do outstay their shtick (Ayden Mayeri as Shadi for example).  Simu Liu as the top protection agent with his own business is a fun inclusion – having worked with Awkwafina previously on Shang Chi the pair clearly are having fun together here.  An opening scene with Seann William Scott as a prior winner kicks things off strong, whilst sowing a few seeds of chuckles at the same time.  Machine Gun Kelly also pops up as himself, which amuses, but does feel like one of the weaker ideas in the film.  However, all in all, a good, disposable yet fun time was had.

This film tickled my funny bone throughout, and kept me entertained enough for it to be considered a success.  It isn’t perfect, and some ideas are a bit over-baked, but largely thanks to that central pairing being so engaging, the whole thing serves its purpose well to pass a bit of time.  Well worth checking out, even if you aren’t a fan of Feig.