Jerry and his team of volunteers work hard to support the people in their small-town community, but when a couple of Harvard whiz kids decide to encroach on their game, Jerry has a tough decision to make about their opportunistic venture.
The film tells the story of Jerry and Marge, two people who are in their early forties and have been married for six years. They live in a small town in upstate New York and are both struggling to make ends meet. Jerry is a handyman and Marge is a stay-at-home mom. They enjoy playing the slots at the local casino, but their biggest pastime is gambling. They often go to the same casinos in different states, hoping to win the same money. Their favorite game is blackjack, but they also enjoy poker and roulette.
The film lacks dramatic impetus. Other than the Selbee’s occasional run-in with the two bratty Harvard students, there isn’t a lot here to raise the stakes. The couple’s too-good-to-be-true scheme is actually legal so there aren’t any run-ins with the lottery board or the law. Instead, the majority of the film is taken up with Jerry and Marge travelling to various towns out of state to buy and count their tickets. There are the occasional moments of fun to be had when they get into a few minor predicaments, but on the whole, the plotting of this film is rather unexceptional. ..
Despite the lack of tension, there is a small amount of pleasure to be gained when watching Jerry and Marge travel the country in pursuit of lottery machines. After years of drifting apart because of Jerry’s employment circumstances, it is nice to see them connecting with one another as they bond over their various wins. There is the sense that they aren’t manipulating the game because they want to get rich but rather that they are doing it so they can spend more time in one another’s company. And that is quite sweet really, even if the morality of their actions is a little dubious.
Jerry and Marge are the only interesting characters in this film. They are both stoned store attendants and they have very little to do with the rest of the story.
The Selbees’ community is struggling to make ends meet, and they’re not the only ones. The townspeople want to raise money for the Jazzfest, but they don’t seem like the best use of the thousands of pounds that they eventually accumulate. I know this is based on a true story, but more creative license could have been used to invent characters with more pressing financial needs.
Jerry and Marge’s small-scale scheme feels like it could have been a television movie. ..
This is a rather simple film that is saved by its strong performances from its lead actors and screenplay. The running time is enjoyable, especially during the scene where Jerry wanders into Harvard to take down the upstarts that are trying to interfere with his money-making scheme. However, this never has an emotional impact on the viewer, so it’s not something you should gamble on if you want a story that has any kind of emotional impact.
