Entertainment Blog #315 | The Luckiest Man in America [2024] : Press for Luck with Brain...
There are so many game shows on TV channels. Nowadays, most of them are quiz-based contests. But a few years back, most of the game shows were activity-based contests. It's like testing luck more than testing the brain. But it takes the right person to change the context, and this is about that guy.
The Luckiest Man in America is a Suspense Drama movie and the best thing is it is based on a true story. Paul Walter Hauser, Walter Goggins, David Strathairn play main roles here. Actually, this movie was supposed to make in early 2000s. But it kinda rolled up and surfaced back in 2020s. IFC Films acquired the distribution rights and after a short theatre run, now it's available on VOD.
Michael Larson is an AC mechanic who drives an ice cream van in Lebanon, Ohio. He is said to be happily married to his wife and daughter. Now, he is in California to test his luck in the reality game show "Press Your Luck."
In reality game shows, at first, selected number of contestants goes through a screening test. Michael participated that. Even though Travis Dunn is not his name, since no one stood, Michael went to screening as he is Travis Dunn. In the middle of the screening, the staff got to know what Michael was doing and was initially dispelled from the premises.
But the showrunner, Bill got an instinct about this guy and his love to this game. So he privately went to his ice cream van and brought the good news that he will be playing in the next game day on Press Your Luck.
He didn't have a good amount of money to rent a good kit. A few minutes in, he lost all the money he earned in the first round of the game. But in the next round, he was unstoppable. He was continuously hitting the button where the prize money is available. The last highest winning prize was around 28K USD, but he's surpassing it with ease.
While all this happening, interesting things take place in the control room. They think he's cheating. But later they find out that it is actually not his problem. Actually, it was their problem.
The journey of this discovery is crazy. The showrunners wanted to have control over Larson but were unable to do so. And this game show ended up being one of the iconic is American history.
This type of movie is not everyone's cup of tea. Some like action & adventure. But this movie got none of it. But it is full of suspense and a psychological thriller. And I can highly recommend to everyone who loves that category.