Lay the Favorite (2012)

The girl playing the lead gets on your nerves, since she seems like she's on hyperspeed all of the time. Did Catherine Zeta Jones get a major face lift? And of course Vince Vaugn is in it, he's very funny. I liked seeing him and Bruce, they were great. But I expected more, in general. It was like watching squirrels run around in those little wheels things....I should have waited until it was ALOT cheaper, like in Prime....buyer beware--

Beth(Rebecca Hall) is a woman who aspires to be a cocktail waitress in Vegas. She has both brains and looks. She ends up working for Dirk, a bookie (Bruce Willis) who she develops feelings. Dirk has a jealous wife Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a bad side when he loses, which causes Beth to get a job elsewhere. Beth eventually gets into trouble and needs help.

The film is based on a true story, so you didn't know where it is headed. The downfall of the film is that it has a narrow appeal. It is basically a modified chick flick. But it is for chicks who know something about book making. The phrase "lay the favorite" means betting against the favorite, i.e. you always take the points and the underdog, you never give points. Bookies make their money by having a balanced book. They need the same amount of money bet on a team as they do against it. They make their money from taking "the juice" which is a percentage of the winnings. If the juice is 10% and you bet $50 even money, you will net $40 in return. In order to balance their books, they will have to move money around and make bets with other books or alter the point spread. The point spread has more to do balancing the books then it does the ability of the teams involved which is why it sometimes changes from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. This allows a smart better to straddle his bet. The key to book making is to do the math and bet with your head, not your heart.

It is not an inside look at the gambling industry per se, but it gives you enough of a glimpse that you feel you need to know what is going on in order to enjoy the movie. The most unbelievable aspect of the film is that with all the money Dirk and his wife had, she drank Beefeaters Gin. I enjoyed Bruce Willis in this role. Rebecca Hall was refreshing. A light chick flick for people who know something about gambling.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, nudity (Jo Newman, Laura Prepon Donna from "That 70's Show")

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Such an established cast and yet failed on every level. Really disappointed that I spent ten dollars to watch this dud.

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Dull movie. No wonder it went to video. Zeta-Jones was hot to look at but they don't use her on camera much. She played a great character as a gamblers pampered wife, but the rest stunk.

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It wasn't exactly easy to make it to the end of the tone deaf comedy "Lay The Favorite." When I got there, though, I was in for a huge shock. The credits rolled and I realized that Stephen Frears was responsible for directing this! In case you haven't heard of him, the Oscar nominee has orchestrated some truly great films including The Queen, The Grifters, and Dangerous Liaisons. Well nothing could be further from these excellent films than this flight of fancy. Based on a true story, an expose on the world of gambling by Beth Raymer, the plot had the potential to be absolutely fascinating. In fact, I'd love to read Raymer's memoir. I think it would be very enlightening. But instead of a hard hitting drama, Frears has removed any sense of reality from the picture. I don't care that he wanted to make something light and comedic, but this isn't serious enough for a drama, funny enough for a comedy, informative enough for gambling enthusiasts, or rich enough in character so that anyone might actually care about what happens. In short, the movie has no idea what it wants to be and that is very apparent.

Rebecca Hall plays the central character as a chirpy stripper who is simultaneously brilliant and clueless. She dreams of the big time, she wants to be a waitress in Las Vegas! She gets involved, instead, with an odds-maker played by Bruce Willis. She's a natural at the game and soon becomes invaluable to the operation. Willis's wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) doesn't like the closeness between the two and this causes much friction. As Hall sets out on her own, she gets into some trouble from which she may not be able to extricate herself. Hint: It involves Vince Vaughn. It just might require a little help from her friends and a caper is afoot. And boy, there's no stopping this crew when they are joined!

One of my biggest issues with "Lay The Favorite" is that it is all over the map in tone. And none of it really works, nothing is developed in enough depth to get you involved. Even the gambling aspect of the picture is lackluster and pedestrian. I never cared about anything that happened. Willis seems to be sleepwalking, Hall is positively grating, and everyone else is pretty much wasted. Hall has a love affair with Joshua Jackson, but we never know the first thing about him. The character development is so sketchy as to be virtually non-existent. A few of the smaller roles scored and Zeta-Jones has presence. The experience, for me, had no real laughs, no real danger, no real romance. I've certainly been a fan of Frears, Willis and Zeta-Jones in other projects. Here, though, I'm hard pressed to tell you anything that I like about this misguided effort. About 1 1/2 stars, I'm not sure why I'm rounding up. KGHarris, 3/13.

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