Jackpot! – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Jackpot! – Money of Death: A Comedy of Survival

To sit, to look or to stare.  When you do, what is it that you see?  With film, to look and stare at a story unfolding, what is it that keeps you … entertained.  From action to romance, we are gripped by many things.  Sometimes though, for good or bad … the absurd can do that.  In this review, I look at the latest action/comedy from Prime Video.  Within a premise of the ridiculous, there is an intriguing satirical spin to find.  For all the lackluster development, Jackpot! is a tale spin of society of what greed can do.

When her world turns upside down, Katie (Awkwafina) must survive the onslaught of murder attempts to win a lottery of epic proportions.  Coming into a film of this nature, you must begin with the thought of subjectivity.  For all the variations a journey can entertain, there are certain genres that have niche appeal.  Horror is one, and comedy is the other.  To think about ‘what makes you laugh’, becomes a manner of specific things.  From raunchy to physical gags/reels, you must take in the ideas of what makes it personally funny.  With this film, it dances between satire and slapstick in fragments of intriguing promise.  In the beginning, you get a foundational prologue to the premise: California has instituted a ‘grand lottery’ with a catch – the winner must survive till sundown or whomever kills them gets the money.  From this point, we flash forward to the present day with Katie, an actress who travels to Los Angeles to find a new gig.  Through a series of aloof conversations and predictable mishaps, she unknowingly ends up with the winning ticket … as everyone attempts to kill her.  From this point, each situation becomes a mixture of action site gags, cheesy one-liners and reactive stunts as Katie finds herself on the run from all the murder attempts.  Through the shenanigans, she eventually encounters a person who wants to protect, Noel (John Cena).  With this unlikely ally, the journey is layered with the buddy companion motif … propelling a voice of reason for Katie as she tries to figure out the best way to survive.  This added addition provides a shift within the comical nature (of the journey) but doesn’t add much more depth.  It is at this point where the enjoyment (of the film) becomes a manner of accepting the absurdity of the situation: an over-the-top perspective of survival and greed.

As Katie and Noel navigate the city jungle of misfits and strangers, a series of events leads them into contact with another protection agency, ran by Louis Lewis (Simu Liu).  It is here where the film turns from its satirical nature and falls into a downward spiral of unwanted/heavy exposition, predictable character archetypes and genuinely bad writing.  As Katie comes against that standard ‘crossroads’ moment, we head into a third act that weaves back into the action/comedy … leading us to a full circle climax and epilogue.  Jackpot! is an action/comedy that provides some fun in an obscure situation.  If you are a fan of crazed situations, slapstick/satire or those involved, there is fun to be had.  It is available on Prime Video … enough for a good Friday Night at home.

Full Score – 2.5 out of 5 (Friday Night Rental)