Rating: 
Summary: Just saw it on TV for the first time
Review: Not only was the movie set in Harrisburg, most of it was filmed in Harrisburg, as well as the suburbs(Palmyra, Hampden Township and Wormleysburg) and is loosely based on the Real Lottery scam in Pennsylvania on April 24, 1980 when the Daily Pick 3 game was rigged by the station announcer in Pittsburgh (the Late Nick Perry, who I had the pleasure of growing up watching do various bowling programs. In Pittsburgh, "Bowling for dollars aired immediately after the drawing on Channel 4, WTAE.) Just like in the movies all but the #4 and #6 balls were injected with paint, and 6-6-6 came up. The drawings were moved to WHP-TV (channel 21) the next day, where State Officials kept a better eye on things. Nick and the stage hands at channel 4 went to Jail (here in Camp Hill).So the story was as advertised, amusing, not great; and it was great to see big time celebreties visit town. Especially Ed O'neill. Those of us who lived in Harrisburg for a long time will get the inside jokes, and geographic references. My wife yelled at me, when I was over-commenting, finding bloopers, and trying to pick out the local scenery, most of which had buildings remodeled, and again shot outside of Harrisburg in the suburbs. So some of the local bloopers showed Russ trying to drive the truck down Route 22 and Devonshire Road (in Downtown Colonial Park, where I live), and it wrecked. Was he trying to get to I-81 or I-83? Not the way to get to Colorado from Harrisburg. Eighteen wheelers don't go down Devonshire Road (winding and hilly and two-laned)too well, and Rt. 22 at that intersection is a 6-lane divided highway. There is actually an auto dealer at that corner, but was not used in the filming. Like I said us locals caught some of the inside jokes (like the Perry County School Teacher who locked the student in the broom closet, and the mobster from Linglestown), which made the movie more enjoyable than the critics gave it credit for. For those who don't know although there is no channel 6 in Harrisburg, there is (sort of) well, was really WTPA-TV. WTPA-Radio is still on the air. New owners years ago changed the call letters to WHTM, and is actually channel 27. Keeping that in mind, Al Bundy, er, Dick Simmons comments on real-life then WTPA now WHTM weatherman Chuck Rhoades, who has a breif cameo in the movie, and on whom Travolta's character is loosely based (Actually Bill Murray's wheaterman in Groundhog Day is closer to the real Chuck Rhoades, a thirty year fixture on local TV). To me, Chuck is the big star in the movie, even though he is eeen from a distance for a few seconds. Chuck's best acting job to date. And he wasn't acting! That clip is from 1988 when the movie was set, when Harrisburg had one of its biggest heatwaves ever. Anothe Harrisburg weatherman, Don Rooney has a cameo scene at the TV station. When the movie was filmed out here, it was the biggest deal to hit Harrisburg , since the Three Mile Island accident. Yes, Harrisburg is really like that-- and Denny's is the Classiest Bistro in Town, at least the one in Hampden Township (US Rte. 11--where JT is seen jaywalking to the Evergreen (actually Hampden) Diner. All in all an enjoyable movie for us in Harrisburg.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Amusing Dark Comedy
Review: Not The best comedey i've seen in recent years but Travolta just
shines as the arrogant T.v Weatherman Russ Richards who with a
not so bright ditzy blonde and a bar owner friend plan to to fix
his station's lottery money to himself as a way out of his finacial troubles. Travolta has a flare for harmless comedy and seems to be having fun in doing so and does not take the script too serlously. Lisa Kudrow is also funny endearing to the part quite well. This is the kind of film you want to watch when you want to forget about the pressures of life for a little while.
Rating: 
Summary: Lottery Balls
Review: Set in 1988 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a TV weatherman and snowmobile dealership owner (Travolta) strapped for cash teams up with a variety of people in a scheme to defraud the state lottery. How will he do it? Well, his girlfriend (Kudrow) just happens to be the girl on TV who picks the lottery balls...
Rating:
Summary: A Thousand Laughs
Review: Slightly vulgar, but apparently one of the best comedies America has ever seen since "Hot Shots" I reccomend this movie to anyone thirteen and above. It's got a great cast - Colin Mocrie, John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, who else do you need? Trust me - you gotta see it to believe it!
Rating: 
Summary: Again, What Was Travolta Thinking?
Review: Strike two for Travolta. After failing miserably with Battlefield Earth, the now desperate actor tries out Lucky Numbers. It is about a local weatherman that has to declare bankrupcy and then devises a scheme to win the lottery. The film co-stars Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, and Ed O'Neil. The movie just doesn't cut it. Usually Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and Hanging Up) gives her audiences a fun romantic comedy that gives us a few laughs. This one on the other hand gives us no laughs and I actually turned it off half way through. I can't believe some of the movies that Hollywood makes anymore. Avoid at all costs.
Rating: 
Summary: ill-conceived failure
Review: Suppose you're Nora Ephron. Thanks to "You've Got Mail", you've got clout. Now, suppose you've signed up John Travolta. In Hollywood, that makes you a Goddess. You can make any movie you want! So why did she make this one? I don't know, it's a mystery. "Lucky Numbers" gives us a story Elwood Leonard would write, if he had less talent. Like a Leonard story, all the characters are try to further their own hidden agendas and their self-interest drives the conflict and suspense to its conclusion. But unlike a Leonard story, no one pays a price for their transgressions. There is no moral balance. The plot -- about a scheme to rig the state lottery -- has some big holes. More than once I found myself asking the movie "why don't they do this" or "how did they know that". The script by Adam Resnick ("Cabin Boy", which explains everything) spares us answers to my questions while offering up lots of profanity, wretched personas and, like I said, a failure to balance the moral scales at the end. *SPOILER* For example, Lisa Kudrow's character murders her cousin through depraved indifference (see any episode of "Law & Order" for this legal interpretation), but at the end she is simply demoted from lotto girl to stripper. So, listen up Nora: When the great powers in Hollywood ask "Are you a Goddess?" Say NO. Then take a breath, make sure Adam Resnick isn't in the room, then go make something about elusive and capricious romantic destiny.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: This film is underrated and underappreciated. I've shown it to several friends and they thought it was great also.
Can't say enough about Lisa Kudrow in this film, every scene she's in, she steals. Michael Moore's last scene with Lisa Kudrow is classic. They did a great job! If you like a good, dark comedy, this film is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Destined For Cult Status. A "Ruthless People" for 2000.
Review: This Film Represents Iron-Clad Proof that U.S. Box Office Numbers have nothing to do with the worth of a film, they have to do with Marketing Campaigns, Star-Power, Ect. "Lucky Numbers" deserved to rake in $200 Million, it didn't. "Meet the Parents" deserved to rake in $200 Thousand, it didn't. It is just Wrong. "Lucky Numbers" was one of the Funniest movies I've seen in a Very Long Time. The Performances are Genuinely Hysterical. Seeing John Travolta and Tim Roth Share the screen for the first time since "Pulp Fiction" (in a Coffee Shop as well)is simply one of the greatest moments in cinema since 1994. (Pulp Fictions Release) Even Lisa Kudrow, who I usually Can't Stand, was Great and the Supporting cast of Ed O'Neil and Michael Rapaport are Brilliant. Which Brings me to Bill Pullman, (who has always been a favourite of mine since "Ruthless People")Just when I thought the film was going to start going downhill,(i thought no movie could keep this laugh rate up) Bill enters and Makes it even Funnier. He plays one of the Funniest Characters ever to grace the screen. Brilliant Stuff all round. Travolta, come live in Australia, where your comedic brilliance is Appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Destined For Cult Status. A "Ruthless People" for 2000.
Review: This Film Represents Iron-Clad Proof that U.S. Box Office Numbers have nothing to do with the worth of a film, they have to do with Marketing Campaigns, Star-Power, Ect. "Lucky Numbers" deserved to rake in $200 Million, it didn't. "Meet the Parents" deserved to rake in $200 Thousand, it didn't. It is just Wrong. "Lucky Numbers" was one of the Funniest movies I've seen in a Very Long Time. The Performances are Genuinely Hysterical. Seeing John Travolta and Tim Roth Share the screen for the first time since "Pulp Fiction" (in a Coffee Shop as well)is simply one of the greatest moments in cinema since 1994. (Pulp Fictions Release) Even Lisa Kudrow, who I usually Can't Stand, was Great and the Supporting cast of Ed O'Neil and Michael Rapaport are Brilliant. Which Brings me to Bill Pullman, (who has always been a favourite of mine since "Ruthless People")Just when I thought the film was going to start going downhill,(i thought no movie could keep this laugh rate up) Bill enters and Makes it even Funnier. He plays one of the Funniest Characters ever to grace the screen. Brilliant Stuff all round. Travolta, come live in Australia, where your comedic brilliance is Appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Some funny parts, but overall not that great
Review: This movie has some laughs, but there are some very lame, annoying scenes that ruin this movie. Particularly one scene in a bar where the characters are planning their lotto scam. That was just terrible, and it dragged on forever. I think the acting was well done, its just that some parts of the script were so dumb, it took away a lot from this picture. Another thing I didn't like was the ending. It seemed like they didn't know what to do, so they just through this one together over a coffee break. The movie could have been so much better. I would leave this movie for your rental list.
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