What would you do if you won the lottery? Riches beyond your wildest dreams. It’s a commonplace daydream that most people have had at one point or another. With 1 in 45 million odds though, that’s likely all it’ll ever be: a daydream. But just how far would you go to win if given the chance? It’s the question Paul Feig asks in his new comedy Jackpot. Everyone has a shot at gold in this world; all you have to do is kill the winner within 24 hours of their ticket being drawn and the prize is yours.
It’s a fun conceit but for wannabe actress Katie (Awkwafina), it becomes a nightmare when she unwittingly participates in the $3 billion draw and wins. Forced on the run, she stumbles into Noel (John Cena), an amateur lottery protector looking to make a name for himself, who vows to ensure that Katie makes it to sunrise unscathed and with her prize pool intact.
Feig’s eclectic filmography has boasted every genre from thrillers (A Simple Favour) to rom-coms (Last Christmas), young-adult fantasy (The School for Good and Evil) and even franchise fare (2016’s Ghostbusters). However, Jackpot! is a return to the filmmaker’s “action-comedy” wheelhouse (Spy, The Heat) and it’s clear this is where he operates best – a comfortably slick execution in both consistent humour and taut stunt work. Inspired by the gonzo martial acts comedies of Jackie Chan, where everything and anything is a weapon, the film boasts cleverly devised physical gags and choreography because the lottery’s one rule is that you can’t use guns. It would be so easy for the action to cop out here but Feig continually escalates the set-pieces in such creative and outlandish ways.
There’s a touching throughline about the friendship between Katie and Noel and it’s an endearing arc, if a little thinly sketched. Ideas of ‘found family’ and ‘purpose’ come out of nowhere and aren’t explored nearly enough to give the characters the emotional depth the film is otherwise lacking. But Awkwafina and Cena’s fizzling chemistry is a joy to watch; the former impresses in her first leading action role, while Cena’s comedic timing is as sharp as ever and he easily takes the lion’s share of the laughs. Jackpot! is a delightfully gleeful good time at the movies. With impressively staged gags and action beats, it’s great fun, even if it doesn’t all coalesce into something more memorable. It’s not quite a winning ticket but there’s still the adrenaline rush of watching the numbers come in and thinking just maybe it could be.
Jackpot! is released on Amazon Prime Video on 15th August
Jackpot!
Summary
Awkwafina and Cena’s fizzling chemistry is a joy to watch, as are the impressively staged gags and action beats.
