Movie review: Jackpot! is the lottery ticket that wins you endless laughs

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When I pressed play on director Paul Feig’s Jackpot!, I had no idea I was about to watch one of the most awesome action comedies ever. 

It’s apparent Feig had lots of fun playing around with the story’s absurd premise. The movie is a surprising blast from beginning to end, thanks to Feig’s trademark punch of dark humour and childish, yet relatable, characters.

Awkwafina stars as Katie Kim, a newly arrived actress in Los Angeles, whose bad luck in getting roles gets worse when she unwittingly becomes the new winner of a $3.6 billion prize in a deadly lottery. Soon, all hell breaks loose in “The City of Angels” as Los Angelenos try to take Kim’s life for her money, unless she can stay alive until sundown to claim her winnings as per lottery rules. Helping her survive this wacky chaos is freelance bodyguard Noel Cassidy, who is played by John Cena.

Upon first viewing, the film is essentially The Purge as an action comedy. You laugh hard at how Kim and Noel narrowly escape each murder attempt in comedic fashion. The movie, however, strangely feels like a slasher flick as you follow Awkwafina running away from or looking out for city locals, not knowing what’s around the corner. Still, Feig’s pacing and energy maintains a light-hearted tone throughout the story.

The writing is excellent at gradually building tension from the start. From there, the lead characters are flung from one remarkable set piece to another. Feig’s willing to throw anything at Kim and Cassidy for the sake of being ridiculous. A fight scene involving a vicious yoga class and a karate dojo is enough to tell you the slapstick shenanigans about to unfold.

Awkwafina and Cena are an unexpectedly good duo whose dynamic is decently developed across the story. Awkwafina’s barrage of pop culture jokes and crude quips contrasts well with Cena’s over-the-top charisma and sensitive nature. 

Building on Jackpot!’s enjoyable surprises is Canadian icon Simu Liu as the main villain Louis Lewis, the double-faced leader of the city’s lottery security team. Liu, who’s well known for leading Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, revels in playing a heartless bad guy. His scenes with Awkwafina are not only funny and tense, they’re also quite nostalgic. The pair proves their natural chemistry remains strong after starring in Shang-Chi together.

Beyond his talented cast, Feig chooses the right scenes for us to learn more about Kim and Cassidy through their tragic backstories. These beats provide much needed breaks from the city’s violent lottery, while taking the time for us to get behind these characters.

On one hand, the film can easily be seen as a dark satire about our obsessions with the world of fame and fortune, as well as the absurd lengths people will go to satisfy their greed. Kim and Cassidy sharing their histories make the story more about finding closure with your past, and their relationship conveys putting self-interest aside to do right by others.

As far as shortcomings go, the rules of how the lottery works and the film’s ending felt a bit confusing, even for a comedy. The movie could’ve also explored what the rest of the country — or the world, even — thought about this lottery to show the effects of this event around the globe. 

So, does the premise make sense? Not really. Is it far-fetched, and does it stretch belief? Of course. But guess what? That’s okay. See it for yourself if you’ve been itching for a good comedy lately. There’s so much more I wish I could mention here, but I dare not spoil the fun.

Jackpot! was released on Aug. 15 and is available on Amazon Prime Video.