Earlier this year, a friend asked me who I thought was the best actor of the new generation right now- Who’s going to be a household name? Not getting too technical on that definition, I said Paul Walter Hauser.
Ever since he crashed on the scene with his supporting turn in I, Tonya, it’s been impossible for me to ignore Walter Hauser on-screen.
So it was my delight to see he was headlining a movie at this year’s TIFF, the sophomore film of director Samir Oliveros (Bad Lucky Goat), The Luckiest Man in America. Add in that it’s bringing an iconic moment of 1980s TV lore to the big screen, the excitement was even greater.
The tale of Michael Larson fleecing CBS’ hit gameshow Press Your Luck to the tune of over $100,000 is stuff of legend. Yet, few people actually witnessed it as the studio suppressed the episode after its original airing out of the embarrassment that a contestant memorized the game to automatically win. I grew up watching reruns on IGN, so it wasn’t anything I was able to witness without the Internet.
Oliveros and co-writer Maggie Briggs are able to lean into the mythos, benefitting from the lack of visibility the story ever saw in the mainstream.
If you’re looking for a factual retelling, you’ll be left questioning many of the turns right from the start where Michael is seen impersonating someone in order to make his way into the show. Calls to his home and his supposed family life are brought into question. He’s evidently been served a restraining order as well.
All of this builds a thick, cyclical sense of paranoia that creeps into the CBS control room and back to Michael as he continues to press his luck.
It’s never about feeling as if he’s ever going to be hot with a Whammy in the game and lose all of his money. That’s basically a certainty even if you’re not familiar with the story. Instead, the focus leans on this dreamscape of Michael’s world is he fluctuates been nightmare and serenity in equal measure. And that’s all held together by a wondrous score from John Carroll Kirby that successfully weaves its way through Press Your Luck’s sounds effects, drawing on a pure ’80s sound without feeling reductive or cliche.
It all feels at home as we move from set to control room. And picking a standout performance is a difficult case, even with Walter Hauser being the primary focus, continuing to prove his star talent, closely resembling his Emmy-winning turn in Black Bird.
David Strathairn brings in oddly fun work as the showrunner, switching between a refreshing POV of corporate decision-maker and greedy suit. It’s his interactions with underling Shamier Anderson that certainly bring out the best in both of their talent. And once you add in a brief role from character actor Damian Young (Ozark), we’re cooking with gas. Walton Goggins doesn’t have much to work with as the show’s host but he does it all well, providing further evidence he’s one of Hollywood’s most charming personas as well.
It’s refreshing to see the story played pretty straight-laced, mostly playing with paranoia more than any commentary or analysis that someone could paint with a potential rags to riches story. Whole it may bother some, the uncertainty of what really happened that makes it successful along with the effortless performances and pitch perfect throwback to an era the peak game show era.
