Lucky You

A professional Vegas gambler (Eric Bana) romances a naive aspiring singer (Drew Barrymore), even as he scrambles to come up with a stake to enter the World Series of Poker, seething with resentment toward his legendary poker-champ father (Robert Duvall). Director Curtis Hanson’s movie (written by Hanson and Eric Roth) is a mildly diverting throwback to star vehicles of the 1930s (it’s easy to picture the three leads played by Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Lionel Barrymore). But the comfy, predictable story is the antithesis of a gambler’s edgy life, and star-power is really all the movie has going for it. It’s colorful and glamorous, but dogged by the nagging feeling that with these names attached it should have been much better. Debra Messing, Jean Smart and Robert Downey Jr. provide thankless support.