Lay the Favorite
2012 Directed by Stephen Frears
Synopsis
Beth Raymer is a beautiful girl with a big heart who leaves her dancing job at a Florida strip club to become a Las Vegas cocktail waitress. Not exactly an ideal career choice, but her borderline-ditzy personality doesn’t give her many options. In walks Dink, a professional sports bettor who sees through her bubbly exterior and offers her a job placing wagers all over town to gain an advantage over the casinos. Her surprisingly impeccable mind for numbers soon cements her status as Dink’s good-luck charm, until his gorgeous-but-frigid wife, Tulip, starts to get jealous. Faced with no other choice but to fire Beth, Dink’s luck runs out when she heads to New York to work for a smarmy bookie, a turn of events that lands her squarely on the wrong side of the law.
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The December Project: Film #36
Review from Next Projection
I had occasion just recently to see Walter, one of many TV movies that formed the earliest phase of Stephen Frear’s directorial career. Like so many such productions, it’s a film restricted by its form and financing, yet such is the calibre of the performance Frears gets from Ian McKellen as the learning disability-afflicted eponym and the intensity of the emotion he manages to summon in his harsh critique of social misunderstanding and mistreatment that it easily overcomes its limitations. Walter, above all else, has extraordinary heart, a profound and justified belief in the importance of its own themes. It’s this passion that has often come to distinguish Frears’ work, from…
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The opening title of Stephen Frears’ gambling comedy, Lay the Favourite proudly proclaims: “As luck would have it, this story is true”. That five second moment of pre-game relief is as far as your luck will stretch with this one though, as it’s a light-hearted, but truly mystifying jaunt down a cul-de-sac of comprehensibility.
Beth (Rebecca Hall) is sassy and funny and an ex-stripper; she wears really tight little shorts and she’s heading to Las Vegas to seek her fame and fortune, and she’s great with numbers!
Dink (Bruce Willis) is a professional gambler; he wears some big socks and shouts at television screens all day. He makes money somehow doing something with lines and odds and professional sports, and…
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I've watched more entertaining DVD menus
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Ja šī ir sacensība vai derības starp Brūsu Vilisu, Ketrīnu Zetu Džonsu un Rebeku Hallu par to, kurš sliktāk nospēlēs un izstādīs sevi publikai par pilnīgu muļķi, tad šai filmai ir vismaz kaut kāds attaisnojums. Ja tā nav, tad šis ir ak-man-dieniņ-cik-slikti.
Knapais sižets par ne pārāk legāliem sporta totalizatoru spēlētājiem un turētājiem jau tā neturās kopā, bet veids, kā to izspēlē, šo filmu piebeidz pilnīgi un galīgi.
Un tajā sacensībā godpilno pirmo vietu ieņem Džonsa. Nav brīnums, ka pēc šādas lomas jāiet paārstēt depresiju ar kaut kādu smalku nosaukumu. -
Laba filmu režisora Stephen Frears komēdija par bijušo striptīzdejotāju, kura Lasvegasā nolemj sākt jaunu dzīvi.
Izcili tizls scenārijs bez jebkāda satura, simtiem nenostrādātu detaļu un atbaidoša aktierspēle (tas visvairāk par galvenās lomas atveidotāju), kas liks aizdomāties un liks uzdot jautājumus, kam, kāpēc šī filma bija vajadzīga? Es uz to nespēju atbildēt.
Bet ja tomēr sanāk iet garām kinoteātrim un ir brīvs laiciņš, noteikti ejiet garām. -
I've got to admit, I only really took interest in this because I saw that it had Joshua Jackson in it after seeing an advert on the side of a bus. I was on a pretty high Fringe kick at the time and I was intrigued, despite not knowing anything about the film.
As it turns out, old Peter Bishop isn't really in it that much. A sort of side character that stands around looking handsome in the latter half of the film while the normally pretty good Rebecca Hall does whatever the fuck it is she's supposed to be doing in such a ditzy, high-pitched, 'LOOK! A GIRL IS DOING SOMETHING THAT MEN NORMALLY DO! GASP!', way that she…
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"Waste of such good talent especially from Rebecca Hall who tried her best in this bad of a film. The story stinks, the script is awful & jokes just fall flat. Supporting cast are badly wasted from the likes of Vince Vaughn, Bruce Willis & Catherine Zeta-Jones. Just a waste of time with wasted roles from a good cast in a not-so-good movie. 2 stars soley because of Rebecca Hall's decent lead performance and...showing off her great body in her panties, haha. This is isn't one of the worst movies i've seen but it's still a bad film."
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Ja šī ir sacensība vai derības starp Brūsu Vilisu, Ketrīnu Zetu Džonsu un Rebeku Hallu par to, kurš sliktāk nospēlēs un izstādīs sevi publikai par pilnīgu muļķi, tad šai filmai ir vismaz kaut kāds attaisnojums. Ja tā nav, tad šis ir ak-man-dieniņ-cik-slikti.
Knapais sižets par ne pārāk legāliem sporta totalizatoru spēlētājiem un turētājiem jau tā neturās kopā, bet veids, kā to izspēlē, šo filmu piebeidz pilnīgi un galīgi.
Un tajā sacensībā godpilno pirmo vietu ieņem Džonsa. Nav brīnums, ka pēc šādas lomas jāiet paārstēt depresiju ar kaut kādu smalku nosaukumu. -
Willis is simultaneously different and the same character in this as he is in every film. Regardless, I always enjoy his work and this was no exception, although lacking in some places.
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Laba filmu režisora Stephen Frears komēdija par bijušo striptīzdejotāju, kura Lasvegasā nolemj sākt jaunu dzīvi.
Izcili tizls scenārijs bez jebkāda satura, simtiem nenostrādātu detaļu un atbaidoša aktierspēle (tas visvairāk par galvenās lomas atveidotāju), kas liks aizdomāties un liks uzdot jautājumus, kam, kāpēc šī filma bija vajadzīga? Es uz to nespēju atbildēt.
Bet ja tomēr sanāk iet garām kinoteātrim un ir brīvs laiciņš, noteikti ejiet garām. -
Former private dancer who ends up as a gambling consultant and assistant between Vegas and New York. Stunning cast has not much to do except playing second fiddle to Rebecca Hall's unexpected turn as a sexy and dynamic yet vulnerable hurricane of a girl. Classic opening card about this being based on true events (it is in fact based on autobiography of the protagonist) only highlights the fact the film can't decide whether it wants to be drama or comedy
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For a Frears film with a stellar cast it was all a bit disappointing
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Either it's miscasting or bad directing, but this comic-book memoir compares poorly against Frears's other lowlife ensemble sketch, The Grifters. Way too much jumping, throwing and shouting. Zeta-Jones adds comic relief with her flat believability while the rest clown for laughs that never come.
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I've got to admit, I only really took interest in this because I saw that it had Joshua Jackson in it after seeing an advert on the side of a bus. I was on a pretty high Fringe kick at the time and I was intrigued, despite not knowing anything about the film.
As it turns out, old Peter Bishop isn't really in it that much. A sort of side character that stands around looking handsome in the latter half of the film while the normally pretty good Rebecca Hall does whatever the fuck it is she's supposed to be doing in such a ditzy, high-pitched, 'LOOK! A GIRL IS DOING SOMETHING THAT MEN NORMALLY DO! GASP!', way that she…
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Wanted to watch something 'Vegas'. Not particularly well done but an interesting look into sports betting based on Beth Raymer's true story.