Review of Lottery Ticket (2010) by Richard C — 02 Sep 2010

What would you do if you won the Lotto?

That's the question that's presented upon our young protagonist, Kevin Carson, played by Bow Wow. He's the average teen growing up in The Projects district of Atlanta. He works at a Foot Locker and tries to keep away from the neighborhood gangster. His friend Benny (Brandon T. Jackson) always has his back. One day, on an urge from his conscience (and a little thanks to a fortune from a fortune cookie), he decides to buy an extra lottery ticket...The Big Lotto (he always picks a regular one up for his mom). It's not long before the winning numbers are revealed and he's nailed them all. He tells his mom (Loretta Devine) not to say anything about their winnings until after he gets it redeemed, but what's this? It's Fourth of July weekend and the Lottery office won't be open til Tuesday. Kevin must now hold onto the ticket long enough to tough it out for the weekend. To make matters worse, his mom accidentally spills the beans to a local (Charles Q. Murphy) and he tells the rest of the neighborhood. People who have never spoken to him (including the neighborhood hottie) suddenly want to be his friend and help them out.

This is one of the few, surprising gems of the year. It's not a great film, but it's charming and funny, with a very likable cast. Ice Cube (who co-executive produced) does a good job in a small role as a retired boxer living as a hermit, and Keith David is grinningly evil as a loan shark that Kevin gets mixed up with. There's the usual romantic formula that evolves sooner or later, as well as the cliche moment where the protagonist and his best friend get in an arguement which leads to their breaking partnership and, ultimately, each other's forgiveness. These are minor details and while they are, in fact, there, they don't make that much of a mess out of the film. The film in whole is a winning number.