Lottery Ticket (PG-13)
Scott:
This week we are reviewing Lottery Ticket
. The movie is about Kevin Carson (Bow Wow), a young African American living in the projects, who buys the winning ticket to a $370 million lotto. The bad news for Kevin, and the good news for us, is that he can't claim the ticket until Tuesday, three days away (drawing was Saturday and the 4th of July is Monday).
Like most movies, they give a lot of this movie away in the previews. Unlike most movies though, there is plenty left to watch.
One of the most interesting things about this movie to me, is that it isn't full of the stereotypes you often see in African American movies. They are in the projects, but guns aren't blazing around them throughout. Neighbors there aren't scared to leave their houses. They socialize, they get along, it's refreshing. I'm sure it's an ideal view of how the projects are in real life, but that's how Hollywood treats every other locale, so it's nice to see it here too.
Kevin loves shoes. He has a closet full of them. He designs his own shoes on paper and probably dreams about them at night. He works at Foot Locker selling shoes. He really loves his shoes. His best friends are Benny (Brandon T. Jackson) and Stacie (Naturi Naughton). All three of them are newly graduated and Stacie is soon headed off to college.
The three actors were great onscreen together. The camaraderie between the three really helped the movie along. Kevin wants more in life and doesn't know how to get it. Benny is a really nice guy that tries too much to be tough. Stacie just wants Kevin.
The day of the lotto drawing starts off funny as Kevin's grandma (Loretta Devine) has a dream about Jesus and lotto tickets so Kevin has to buy her a ticket. On his way to work at Foot Locker with Benny and Stacie we run into Nikki Swazye (Teairra Mari), the neighborhood hot girl, who won't give him the time of day. Her boyfriend turns out to be Giovanni, played by a muscled Bill Bellamy. The scene reminded me a bit of Eriq La Salle in Coming to America. Nikki later changes her mind after the lotto ticket shows up. She made a pretty good point about her appearance during a heated scene later on.
They next run into Lorenzo (Gbenga Akinnagbe), who was recently released from prison. It's a later run in with this character that provides Kevin with the winning numbers. This guy is tough as nails.
There are a lot of good characters and cameos in the movie. I really liked seeing Terry Crews as Jimmy the Driver. He always has a good mojo about him and I've like him every time I see him.
Another standout character is Semaj played by Charlie Murphy. He is a riot. I remember him well from Chappell's Show. He has more humor in just his facial expressions than a lot of other comedians.
We also have a good role for Ice Cube, as Mr. Washington. The funny thing is, he's the old guy (you should catch this from the previews) and he's not that much older than me! Fifteen years ago the role of Kevin would have went to him.
Some other notable appearances where made by Mike Epps, Keith David, Faheem Najm, and Chris Williams.
How did I rate this?
I give this a 4 out of 5 overall and the same for comedy. What I liked most about this movie was that it didn't play into stereotypes. There weren't people selling drugs, or shooting people or any number of the things you normally see in a movie in the 'hood. What you saw in this movie were positive people in tough situations, getting along as best they could, and doing a good job of it.
