|
Rating:  -
with some karoake thrown in.
I saw "Twin Falls Idaho", and The Polish brothers have certainly got their own brand of film. "Jackpot" is their sophmoric effort, and it is just visually stunning. Great cinematography!
Jon Gries plays "Sunny Holiday", a drifter type who wants to become a professional singer. He is married to the foul mouthed Daryl Hannah, and they have a little girl. He leaves them to embark on his journey to Karoake bars, but he is also on a journey of self discovery. He meets a lot of people along the way, and there is some fine supporting acting. This film is definitely in the "road movie" category. The movie itself is more of a character study than plot driven. The character isn't entirely sympathetic. At times, you almost want to hate him. I don't think we are supposed to like Sunny, but he gets under your skin.
He does the karoake thing to get the practice, and meets up with SNL original cast member, Garrett Morris. Morris becomes his manager, and they are very good team. They were both excellent in this little, unknown and somewhat likeable movie.
The Karoake scenes were all pretty entertaining. He did have a decent voice which sounded better when crooning country songs. This movie is very different from the other karoake movie, "Duets", although I did like that movie better than this one.
This movie was an original, but what it has in originality doesn't make up for the awful ending. It just really disappointed me and my husband, especially since we had really liked it up until that point. It is as if they just ran out of time or film.
"Duets" is much lighter than this, this is a bit more serious but much better acted..you decide. Better still, they are both decent movies, and I think it's fun to watch celebs do Karoake.
Eileen Famiglietti
Rating:  -
I bought this disc because it was shot in Hi-Definition (HD) - not film, which makes it one of the first theatrical releases shot in HD...
The look is excellent and the camerawork is nice. The acting is pretty good too. But it plods fairly and there doesn't seem to be much of a story or an experience for the viewer to share.
Fairly laidback story. Not extremely gripping. That's about it...
Rating:  -
I saw this movie last Summer, I wanted to see it twice but it was gone. I hate these theaters that keep movies in for a week. If I wasn't working at the coffee shop next door I wouldn't have known that Jackpot ever existed. My point is, Jackpot is a true classic and it might be years before anyone really appreciates the American commentary. That is a shame, because filmmakers like the Polish Brothers won't last in an environment that thrives on fluff. Probably like most good artists, they will pass before they receive the recognition. This movie isn't perfect... what movie is? Jackpot is hilarious with originality to spare.
Rating:  -
Jackpot was one of the coolest movies of the year (2001), but like a lot of independent films it didn't last long in the theaters. I know most of my friend missed it, but I hope they check it out now. I am so psyched to add it to my DVD collection. As much as I enjoyed Twin Falls Idaho, the Polish Brothers' debut effort, I actually liked Jackpot better. While TFI was certainly moving, Jackpot was as funny as it was touching.
The Route 66 lives depicted in Jackpot are right on the mark--we've all rolled through little honky tonks like the ones depicted in the film, but few of us stay. In Jackpot I got the chance to linger for awhile. And in Sunny and Les, I got a two-headed Odysseus searching for stardom instread of a home port. Jackpot is part Tender Mercies, part Midnight Cowboy, part comedy and all Polish Brothers.
Rating: -
I went to this movie not knowing anything about it, but was blown away by this smart comic, tale about a Karaoke singer's journey through the belly of America. Living in LA I see a lot of movies, and most of them are awful. That's why this was such a nice surprise; I found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue between John Gries and Garett Morris . These two guys give great performances, as a most ridiculous but somehow plausible paring of Karaoke singer and manager.
But Jackpot isn't just a comedy. It's also a rather stark look at the quest for fame and love, or, perhaps more accurately, fame as love. Sunny Holiday (Jon Gries) has a wife, effectively portrayed by Daryle Hannah, and a new baby girl. But, like his father, he's a deadbeat dad, sending $1 lottery tickets instead of child support. As much as I found myself laughing at Sunny Holiday, I also resented his lack of conscience regarding his family. Jackpot, really is what Sunny's looking for: the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow- But like real life, the journey for gold is often the least glamorous trip imaginable. To subsidize their trip, Less and Sunny sell soap which will remove "any stain."
Jackpot is one of those rare films worth buying because you can see it many times and still catch subtle, new nuances. For instance, the first time I saw the movie I didn't realize the voice that narrates occasionally over the pink Cadillac's trajectory is in fact a self-help tape Sunny Holiday picks up at a gas station. Cool, little plot points like this make Jackpot a great movie that resonates on several different levels at once. I highly recommend it.
|
Action & Adventure