"Lucky You" makes the career of a pro poker player seem simultaneously alluring and pathetic; funny and grim; romantic and depressing. Such is life when a man chances his well-being on the flip of a card. Hardcore poker aficionados insist it’s solely a game of skill in which they play the people and not the cards, but if they were honest they’d admit that sure things don’t exist. Poker’s wicked allure is what fuels the film, as well as its smooth-talking protagonist. Eric Bana, still waiting for a role as juicy as the Aussie sociopath in "Chopper"(2000), his breakout performance, plays slick poker stud Huck Cheever.
Drew Barrymore pops up as Billie, a lounge singer he meets in between tournaments. Huck is the degenerate gambler of Billie’s dreams, but there’s hardly room for her since Huck’s main love affair is with himself. Huck plays coy and distant, but Billie is a hand he ought not fold. It’s hard to find a girl who doesn’t mind if you throw away the occasional 10 grand on a poker game. It’s harder still to find a girl who will still return your calls after you raid her purse to stake your next "sure thing." Floating in now and again to taunt Huck and take his money is L.C. (Robert Duvall), Huck’s semi-estranged father. The Huck-L.C. poker rivalry dates back to dime and quarter games at the kitchen table, and seems to be aimed at resuming at the final table of the World Series of Poker.
That is, if Huck can rustle up the$10, 000 it takes to earn a seat, and then — for the hard part — avoid losing the cash before he can secure his spot. Huck is the type to go for broke, and more often than not, broke is exactly what he gets. His self-destructive antics find him being tossed into a dry pool by thugs and hustling through a 5-mile run and 18 holes of golf in under three hours to win a dopey bet with a pal. Director Curtis Hanson("L.A. Confidential, " "8 Mile") is always up for a macho thrill ride, and he pushes all his chips into the middle of the table this time out. He goes three or four steps beyond other mainstream poker films in capturing the details of the game, from the intricacies of tournament rules to the way competitors signal various plays.
Most poker films are content to let the actors toss cards and chips with abandon, like Mel Gibson in "Maverick, " but Hanson strives for thorough realism. This is key, because since a sizable chunk of the drama in "Lucky You" occurs on felt tables, a circus act would come off as bogus. Although some may be turned off by the poker-centric theme, there’s enough romance and comedy to earn a date movie tag. "Lucky You" is definitely worth a gamble of the admission price.