Anyone who has fallen down a YouTube rabbit hole has eventually found themselves looking at the greatest game show scandals of all time. The Luckiest Man in America is about one of the most fascinating. Ice cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) had figured out a way in which he could win big bucks. He just had to get on a certain game show in order to press his luck. His appearance changed the rules of the show, shocked an entire television network, and created a legacy that exists to this day.
The hard part about films based on true stories is having to create suspense. What makes it even more difficult here is the case is a popular one that has been the subject of multiple documentaries. We know Larson succeeded and CBS let him keep his winnings. (As The Luckiest Man in America reminds audiences, Larson did not cheat; he had just figured out how to game the show.)
The Luckiest Man in America attempts to compensate by focusing on its characters. There are some great performances from Hauser and Walton Goggins (The White Lotus), and as things get crazier and the pot gets larger, everyone begins to learn not so savory details about Larson that indicates he might not be as lucky as it seems. Tension is manufactured more by who is involved than by what is happening.
Once the producers of Press Your Luck find out what is going on, the film adds some unexpected mystery. An intimidating game of cat-and-mouse is played, and even those familiar with the story will wonder what direction things are going to go. It is in these moments that The Luckiest Man in America is able to shine most.
It becomes a character study and a look at a long gone era in American television history. The production design is great and there are the expected great turns from Hauser and Goggins. There are some missteps for dramatization purposes, but The Luckiest Man in America always remains interesting.
The Luckiest Man in America is in theaters now.
