- Director : Dan Brown
- Actors : Angus Cloud, Elliot Knight, Jessica Garza, Sterling Beaumon, Mousa Hussein Kraish
- Studio : Well Go Usa
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Media Format : Widescreen, Subtitled
- Run time : 1 hour and 29 minutes
- Release date : January 23, 2024
If believability is something you look for in
your gritty crime thrillers, it is best to avoid Your Lucky Day. Despite
the story being grounded with real-world problems and believably cynical characters,
the plotting simultaneously demands far too much suspension of disbelief from
the audience. But if you are willing to dismiss absurd sequences with a
pregnant woman able to physically overpower large men with weapons, it isn’t a
film without glimpses of inspiration. Just don’t go in expect Angus Cloud to be
treated with reverence, even if the film is dedicated to him and unjustly gives
him top billing due to the actor’s untimely death.
Set almost
entirely in the single location of a convenience store in a rough neighborhood,
the film awkwardly introduces a handful of characters who become entangled in a
criminal plot. A drug dealer named Sterling (Cloud) takes a hit to both his ego
and wallet when he has his stash robbed, so he decides to take action when witnessing
a wealthy white man win the lottery at the local Sip ‘N Go convenience store.
Unfortunately, Sterling is unaware of the beat cop (Sterling Beaumon) in the
bathroom, and a shootout follows, complicating the situation for both him and
the witnesses in the store.
Committed to the
act, Sterling must find a way to cover up the crime in order to cash in on the
winning lottery ticket, and he does this by convincing the other patrons and
storeowner to go along with his plan. The store’s only working employee Amir (Mousa
Hussein Kraish) is going through a painful divorce and could use the money,
while the two other patrons are impoverished couple Abraham (Elliot Knight) and
Ana (Jessica Garza), who are expecting a child. While there is initially some
resistance, each of the witnesses predictably becomes a participant in the
crime, though cashing in on the ticket is only possible if they can survive the
night.
On one hand, the
film becomes more entertaining as the action picks up, but it simultaneously becomes
more unbelievable. What starts as a moral crime drama turns into a silly action
film starring a pregnant protagonist. There are multiple genres smashed
together here, and yet it feels like the material for each has been stretched beyond
the limits of a feature film. In addition to the plot feeling stretched thin,
the characters also feel slightly underdeveloped, asking the audience to care without
giving adequate reasons to do so. There are worse low budget suspense films
than Your Lucky Day out there to watch, but there are also far better.
The Blu-ray
release doesn’t come with any special features, and the film itself offers few
reasons to make a high-definition presentation necessary.
Entertainment Value:
6.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 0/10
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