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Although known as a versatile director, Curtis Hanson took a gamble on Lucky You and lost. It's billed as the story of a professional gambler (played by Eric Bana) and his inability to sustain a healthy relationship, but in reality there was "more poker than drama". After a very long spell in post-production, the film was released without much buzz behind it and quickly folded at the box office.
Cards On The Table
There isn't much in the way of backstage access on this DVD, but what little there is does hold clues as to what went wrong. Hanson talks about his love of research in The Reel Deal; fully immersing himself in a different world, collecting lots of information and using all of that to "service the story". He proudly tells us that every hand of poker featured in the film is based on an actual hand played in a high-stakes Las Vegas game. Veteran gambler Doyle Brunson even consulted with the director on the size of the bet and the mere twitch of an eyebrow. In the real world though, most people would be nonplussed by these nuances and, in the end, all that loving attention to detail and the cold mechanics of the game weighs down the story. Well, that's just our opinion, of course.
Hanson goes on to talk about reclaiming the set from the famous Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas (who were refurbishing at the time) and using that to enhance the sense of place. He later touches on the problem of how to make the gaming scenes dramatic - after all, it's just a bunch of people sat around a table with blank faces. But Hanson reckons that by sticking fast to the point-of-view of Huck (Bana) an emotional connection develops with that character. On the other hand, if you don't know the significance of a hand, that glint in his eye means nothing.
Bluff And Bluster
The director's noble quest for "authenticity" continues in The Players At The Table. Bana talks about hanging out with pro-gamblers for hours on end prior to the shoot, just to get a handle on their detached mindset and master that all-important pokerface. Hanson even cast these real-life high-rollers as supporting actors in the film to create the proper atmosphere around the gaming tables.
It's difficult to imagine how there might have been more scenes of poker in this film, but there are two of them among nine minutes of deleted footage. Therein you'll see a mighty lot of chin tipping, eyebrow lifting and lip pursing, which only serves to inspire a lot of eyelid drooping, jaw dropping and saliva dribbling… In the role of showgirl Suzanne, Debra Messing channels the spirit of Esther Williams with an underwater mermaid dance. That livens things up a touch, but given all the talent involved in this film, you're likely to feel cheated by this DVD.
EXTRA FEATURES
Lucky You DVD is released on Monday 22nd October 2007.
