Taglines: When they put their heads together… it’s a no brainer.
Lucky Numbers movie storyline. Winter, 1988: Harrisburg PA’s celebrity weatherman, Russ Richards, is broke: he’s borrowed heavily to open a snowmobile dealership, and it’s still unseasonably warm. Gig, his seedy pal, advises him to run an insurance scam; when it goes awry, Russ is out another $10,000 and in trouble with Dale, a bat-wielding thug.
Gig convinces Russ to rig the state lottery with the help of Crystal, a gold-digging ditz with a heart of tin. They have to find a beard to buy the ticket, and then they have to cash it. Soon, murder and various double-crosses add to Russ’s nightmare. A lazy cop zeroes in. Jail is closer than riches. Will Russ have to choose between his money and his life?
Lucky Numbers is a 2000 comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal. It is the only film Ephron directed without also writing the screenplay. It stars John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Ed O’Neill, Michael Rapaport, Bill Pullman, Richard Schiff, Michael Moore, Maria Bamford and Sam McMurray.
About the Story
In 1988 Russ Richards (John Travolta), the weatherman for a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania television station, is revered as a local celebrity by his viewers, and fame affords him such perks as a reserved parking spot and his own booth at Denny’s, where an omelet bears his name. His eternally optimistic demeanor conceals the fact his snowmobile dealership is on the verge of bankruptcy due to an unusually warm winter.
His friend Gig (Tim Roth), a shady strip club owner, suggests an insurance scam will free Russ of his financial problems, but when the scheme fails to pay off, Russ finds himself even deeper in debt and the target of a hitman named Dale (Michael Rapaport). Gig then proposes Russ rig the Pennsylvania Lottery with the help of his amoral girlfriend Crystal Latroy (Lisa Kudrow), a ditzy model who pulls and announces the winning numbers on television, and her oddball cousin Walter (Michael Moore), who will pose as the owner of the lucky ticket.
Their plan works, but before the $6.4 million jackpot can be claimed, everything begins to unravel. First, Walter gets greedy, refuses to hand the winning ticket over to his cousin and Crystal’s physical confrontation triggers Walter’s ultimately fatal asthma attack. Sleazy station manager Dick Simmons (Ed O’Neill), who also is sleeping with Crystal, tries to blackmail her and Russ when he discovers what they have done, and others who have uncovered what appears to be the worst kept secret in town demand their share as well.
Mayhem and murder ensue, prompting lazy detectives Lakewood (Bill Pullman) and Chambers (Daryl Mitchell) to initiate an investigation they hope will not be too taxing. Russ decides to sell the ticket to Dick for $100,000 to get clear of the debt he owes to Dale. Crystal is irate, and she immediately seduces Dick to get back into her share of the winnings. Dale breaks into Dick’s house and tries to rob the ticket from him, but the police arrive, and Lakewood ends up killing him.
Lucky Numbers (2000)
Directed by: Nora Ephron
Starring: John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Ed O’Neill, Michael Rapaport, Bill Pullman, Richard Schiff, Michael Moore, Maria Bamford, Sam McMurray
Screenplay by: Adam Resnick
Production Design by: Dan Davis
Cinematography by: John Lindley
Film Editing by: Barry Malkin
Costume Design by: Albert Wolsky
Set Decoration by: Tracey A. Doyle
Art Direction by: Thomas Fichter, James F. Truesdale
Music by: George Fenton
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexuality, some drug use and brief violence.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: October 27, 2000
Views: 120
