Title – The Luckiest Man in America (2024)

Director – Samir Oliveros (Bad Lucky Goat)

Cast – Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, David Strathairn, Brian Geraghty, Maisie Williams

Plot – Based on the true story of American game show Press Your Luck contestant Michael Larson (Hauser) who in 1984 went on an unprecedented winning streak on the program that lead to producers questioning what he was really doing and how he was doing it.

“What’s behind his winning streak?”

Review by Eddie on 03/09/2025

A based on a true story drama that at first appeared likely to be one of the years breakout awards contenders and indie hits, Samir Oliveros feature has curiously come and gone without much fanfare and despite an intriguing premise and a standout turn from the ever reliable Paul Walter Hauser as gameshow contestant with a secret Michael Larson, it’s not hard to see why The Luckiest Man in America has faded into the streaming sphere.

Taking many a narrative liberty with its core concept that explores the 1984 TV incident on famed American game show Press Your Luck that saw Larson playing for incredible amounts of winnings never previously dreamt of, Luckiest perfectly captures the time and place of the happenings it presents and starts off in white knuckle fashion but once the mystery of the heart of this tale is exposed Oliveros film starts to badly fade as it’s 90 minute runtime begins to quickly wear thin.

Set almost entirely within the confines of the studio in which the show is being recorded in, Luckiest never strays too far away from Larson and the TV crew involved in the shows filming, including Walton Goggins host Peter, David Strathairn’s overseer Bill and Maise Williams hapless ringmaster Sylvia and while Oliveros goes to get lengths to add extra drama and manufactured additions to the true life tale for the sake of viewers entertainment, there’s a feeling Luckiest ends up being a lot of fuss about not a whole lot with Hauser left standing out in a film that would otherwise be entirely forgettable.

Having a long standing relationship with Hollywood as a scene-stealing supporting player, look no further than I, Tonya, BlacKkKlansman or this years cinematic releases such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps or The Naked Gun, but more recently given time to shine in key lead roles in Richard Jewell or underrated mini-series Black Bird, Hauser is a performer that can elevate those around him and the film as a whole and that is once more prevalent here.

From the moment a dishevelled looking Larson arrives on screen at an audition at the studio through to his darting eye time in the spotlight of the game show he has sought to conquer, Hauser is a commanding figure in Oliveros and while the film around him stumbles he remains strong throughout and gives us another reason to consider him one of the most talented actors plying their trade today.

Somewhere out there there’s a fantastic feature film waiting to be made about the life and times of Michael Larson and there are multiple documentaries out there already that explore the Press Your Luck incident in a far more accurate and interesting way than is sadly produced here, making Luckiest a very mid-tier affair lucky to have the services of its leading man to hold onto.

Final Say –

Starting out promisingly and pushed forward by another strong Paul Walter Hauser performance, there’s glimmers of greatness in The Luckiest Man in America but the end result overall here is one that is hard to get excited about.

2 1/2 ice cream trucks out of 5