[NoHo Arts District, CA] – In this month’s movie and TV reviews blog, Jackpot!
Exhibit B: The frenetic comedy Jackpot! (Amazon Prime), directed by Paul Feig, imagines a dystopian (at least in L.A.) future where grand lotteries are held and the lottery losers are legally allowed to hunt (and kill) respective winners till the end of that particular day. (Those winners who survive get to enjoy their winnings.) Awkwafina is a former child actor who unwittingly (and unwillingly) wins, which means she’s the target of everyone (especially her mercenary Airbnb host). Chases and an abundance of allegedly funny quips follow, until John Cena’s protector (for a cut of the winnings) arrives on the scene to help Awkwafina either escape from L.A. (which means forfeiting) or stay and avoid capture to win. There are a couple of chuckles and some twists you’ll see a mile away; Ackwafina is OK but the material lets her down, while Cena steals the proceedings and gets some laughs as her heroic, if occasionally bumbling and overly earnest savior.