At the end of the episode, a video clip of Larson’s 1984 episode of Press Your Luck, which served as the inspiration for The Luckiest Man in America, is shown. The clip was incorporated into the episode thanks to the mid-show interactions between Michael Larson and Peter Tomarken. In these moments, Larson recounts various exploits that presumably pleased producers during the pre-interview, such as recounting his attempts to reconcile with his daughter after he did not attend her birthday or recounting how he drove an ice cream truck as a part-time job the previous summer while he was working as an air conditioning repair technician. For 45 seconds of screen time, that is adequate. However, one can only wonder what director Samir Oliveros accomplished in such a way that the episode became the centerpiece of the 90-minute movie, which chronicles Larson’s infamous appearance on the game show.
If Larson is honored now, it is only because he won $110,000 during the show through his complete treachery of memorizing the algorithm of the game’s Big Board in order to fetch the maximum prize potential and Oliveros is more interestingly concerned with the reason why than the reason how. But “The Luckiest Man in America” addresses those questions chronologically, trying to reconstruct the day of the taping when Larson looked poised to cash out thanks to the real time format of the show. That seems to make sense when the show’s producers put their heads together in horror at this unsophisticated contestant out Lebanon, Ohio, besting them. They don’t even have a chance to start looking for dirt first, Oliveros and co-writer Maggie Briggs have difficulties in using more attractive parts of Larson’s life, his training or its consequences appearances, stuck on the set of “Press Your Luck.”
Larson may have come up with an effective game plan for the game but through out the game, ‘The luckiest man in America’ always relies on fuzzey maths.
It’s understandable that one can sympathize with the “Press Your Luck” producer Bill Cunningham played by David Straithairn when he says he is charmed by Larson’s “aw shucks” demeanor when they know he snuck into their audition pretending to be another contestant. And instead of serving time in prison as arranged by Bill’s colleague Chuck Shamier Anderson, Larson drives his ice cream truck to Television City in Los Angeles, where he has received a call back to shoot for the show.
More compelling aspects of “The Luckiest Man in America,” a fun-loving Nicholas Sparks’ tale, could be seen when the producers themselves became the contestants on occasion instead. Considering that Walton Goggins was brought in to play Tomarken, and Haley Bennett as Larson’s wife Patricia, Maisie Williams as a Studio tour guide and Brian Geraghty and Patti Harrison as his fellow contestants suggests that yes, this managed to work on paper so that it enticed a solid cast, but less so in practice which is a bit disappointing considering their intentions. Most of the suspense surrounding the figure of Larson and his dubious character, however, does not last long. Even though the movie makes concerted efforts in showing Larson’s interests and family life, one is shocked at the ease with which he is made to appear on a talk show within the studio where the host Johnny Knoxville is first heard suggesting that Larson can simply use the sofa and cry.
Tomas and the Modus Operandi in particular do not make “The Luckiest Man in America” less interesting than what Oliveros underlined in his debut work “Bad Lucky Goat” when one speaks about the comedic aspect of the film. Cinematographer Pablo Lozano captures darkness with the low technology bright bulbs that game shows used before computers to make the show more dramatic. Pictures of a beautiful set constructed by production designer Lulú Salgado from the studio lot’s magical “Press Your Luck” provide the much-needed fun as well as the anticipation of thrilling action to come.
By contrast, in Larson case, when watching the game with the knowledge of its end, the audience starts feeling detached from the action. The same occurs when the cinematographic work resorts to an excessive number of infringements of the plot to reach its point. The central premise of such control center where no one considers the option of just switching off the show when a cheater is suspected, extreme ridiculousness. Even after a clear note and a prominent disclaimer that what is being witnessed is a dramatization, the film is true to reality in one respect: Regardless of the amount of money Larson gathers together, it is easy to understand that he considers achieves this victory. Even though the film has available a big deal of talent, it appears out ‘The Luckiest Man in America’ life opportunities haven’t been utilized to the fullest.
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