If it were up to me, every movie that Bruce Willis ever makes would have him in a bloodied vest running bare foot over broken glass with a gun in his hand, light on bullets, and the look of a crazed weasel on his face. But alas, the man has to do more than just defenestrate Germans.
Things like be a successful sports gambler who takes an ex-cocktail waitress that’s good with numbers under your wing, who then loses a whole bunch of your money and – despite having a sweetheart boyfriend – gets your crazy wife all jealous resulting in her having to leave town before your wife kills her, so she starts her own gambling thing, but then gets into even more crap needing your help all over again.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what Stephen Frears and D.V. DeVincentis, the guys behind classic High Fidelity, have him doing here!
Early reviews for the film are out already, and it’s not looked good, despite the quality of the cast, as well as the guys behind the camera and script making it appear to be a sure thing. It would apparently appeal more to the “Katherine Heigl rom-com crowd”, which is about as merciless an insult as I have heard.
Synopsis:
“Lay the Favorite” follows unpredictable dreamer Beth (Rebecca Hall) as she goes from in-home stripper in Tallahassee to gambler’s assistant in Las Vegas, working for Dink (Bruce Willis), one of the most successful sports gamblers in the business. She takes to the work like a natural, but makes the risky bet of falling for Dink, much to the chagrin of his retired showgirl wife Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones). That bet goes south, and a triangular war ensues.
Against Dink’s protests, Beth goes to work for the flamboyant, unstable Rosie who runs a less-than-legal operation in New York City, then for his doomed hyper-speed online sportsbook in the betting Babylon that is Curacao. When Beth’s risky gambles result in her innocent boyfriend Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) threatened with prison, she must reunite with Dink, face up to the fearsome Tulip, risk jail, and return to New York City to confront her responsibilities. Can she beat the odds and win the day?”
Last Updated: May 30, 2012
