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Jon Gries, Garrett Morris, Daryl Hannah, Kool Moe Dee, Peggy Lipton ... see more see more... , Anthony Edwards , Crystal Bernard , Allen Fawcett , Adam Baldwin , Patrick Bauchau , Suzanne Krull , Frazer Smith , Rick Overton , Gill Gayle , Mac Davis , Pamela Clouse , Mark Polish , Larry Pennell , Ricky Trammell , Jonathan Gries

Director Michael Polish and his twin brother Mark, who co-wrote and co-starred in the low-key, yet bizarre Twin Falls Idaho, about a woman who falls in love with a conjoined twin, follow up that modes... read more read more...t cult hit with Jackpot. Jackpot is named for the town of Jackpot, NV, said in the film to be "just across the border" from Twin Falls. Like the Polish brothers' debut, it's well shot by cinematographer M. David Mullen, and is similarly full of odd, deadpan humor, but Jackpot has much more prosaic subject matter. Sunny Holiday (Jon Gries) abandons his wife Bobbi (Daryl Hannah) and their child to go in delusional pursuit of a singing career. Sunny is seemingly unaware of his lack of talent, as he and his stalwart manager Les ({Garrett Morris} of Saturday Night Live fame) travel from one town to another, entering karaoke contests in dive bars. Life on the road has its short-lived rewards, as desperate women occasionally fall for Sunny, despite Les' efforts to keep him out of trouble. But unbeknownst to Sunny, his wife is unhappy with the lottery tickets he sends her in lieu of child support, and she's set a private detective on his trail. One of the first features shot using a Sony 24P digital camera (along with Session 9 and Star Wars: Episode 2), Jackpot captures a grimy life on the road with detailed close-ups and effective deep-focus imagery. The quirky film jumps back and forth in time to match Sunny's playing and rewinding of a tape of his favorite song, George Jones' plaintive "Grand Tour." ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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47% liked it

496 ratings

Critics

29% liked it

55 critics

R, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Michael Polish

Release Date: July 27, 2001

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DVD Release Date: December 18, 2001

Stats: 29 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (29)

  • FangsFirst
    October 3, 2007
    FangsFirst
    What a weird little movie. No, not Tetsuo weird, but weird in a more, "Well, that was odd..." sort of fashion.

    I'm not sure what I think of the plot, but I know I liked the movie--that probably sounds insane, and maybe it even IS insane, but there you are.

    It stars Jon ... read moreGries who reminds me of some kind of cross between Thomas Cavanagh and Mark Knopfler and probably someone else in appearance, and I'm not sure who in terms of his acting. He plays Sunny Holiday, a singer-in-training looking to "make it" with fame, fortune and all the bells and whistles. We open on him fast-forwarding and rewinding a tape of his favourite song, George Jones' "The Grand Tour," which is his own signature song (to sing). We see glimpses of him arguing with his wife Bobbi (Darryl Hannah) while his daughter colours next to them at the table, and of someone angrily yelling at him and telling him to hurry up. We jump back and forth a few times through the movie, seeing this yelling man and his wife a few more times as we go along and piece together all of Sunny's life.

    We first settle, though, on an interview with a reporter (Adam Baldwin) that Sunny and his manager Lester Irving (Garrett Morris) have set up. They tell the reporter where their next show will be, and he takes their picture a few times. He seems to be quite an amateur, taking wild and blurry photos, and even accidentally snapping one of the license plate on their bright pink car, which they tour the country in. Soon after we see Sunny's next gig--and it's not at all what you might expect, if you believe Sunny and Lester's claims so far. It's a bar, and they're singing karaoke. We see all of his gigs, and each one his a simple karaoke bar, and they argue and debate over which songs are most appropriate. Lester constantly philosophizes and analyzes the placement of Sunny's performance, choice of song, who the judges of each contest are, and the crowd as a whole. He tells Sunny that by meandering to Los Angeles and stopping at every bar instead of heading straight there, they are gaining a market base, that the way to fame, fortune and money is by building a mass of people who can have the feeling they "discovered" him before he's ever big.

    Most of the movie is taken up with Lester's discussion of songs and song choices, the argumenst Sunny makes against his choices, the gigs themselves (which include other vocalists, also just as amateurish, despite the claims of Lester)--and what the two of them do after each bar. Sunny often picks up a woman and sleeps with her--the first wakes him and brings him a cup of coffee, a cup that is so hot it leads into...well, it's not quite what you might expect, but it does bring some things into perspective about where Sunny has come from. Another time he skips out on the woman he takes home (because she slipped and hit her head, no less) because her daughter hits on him when he wanders into the kitchen.

    We end up with the impression that Lester and Sunny are completely oblivious to the fact that Sunny is never going to make it--he doesn't have an awful lot of talent or skill (though he's better than a number of the other contestants, admittedly) and his attitude isn't that great either. But the two of them are convinced they can make it somehow, and we sort of want them to, for all that we know they have a snowball's chance in hell of doing so.

    The pace of the film felt a little off, a little slow for an hour and a half long movie, but it was not distressingly so. Still, it was enough to notice, though the clever construction of the film--the rewinding and fast-forwarding of the tape from the beginning continuously reappears, as Sunny seems to rewind and speed up past the slow parts of his life--and the performances kept me interested. Entertaining, but nothing I jump out of my seat to recommend.
  • randomaddress4u
    July 17, 2007
    randomaddress4u
    Now that I've seen it, I can rank it as my least favorite Polish brothers film. Though, I have to say, there is some pretty good dialogue sprinkled throughout the film. And, I had to lauch at Mark Polish showing up towards the end singing 'Sad Eyes' in a karaoke bar.

    Overa... read morell, a strange, slow, colorful little story about a couple of guys on the road who don't quite manage to escape reality in their pursuit of a misguided dream. It's what would happen if, regardless of the consequences, you actually acted on that hypothetical question people like to banter about 'If you could do anything you wanted with your life, what would it be?'

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Critic Reviews

Susan Stark
October 12, 2001
Susan Stark, Detroit News

This is a comedy but the laughter it prompts is dark and parched. Full Review

Terry Lawson
October 12, 2001
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Because there is no real chance Sunny will triumph -- Rocky this isn't -- we await the end with the same polite, mildly bemused vacancy with which we await the end of a serious karaoke performance, on... Full Review

Roger Ebert
August 24, 2001
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

There's a sense in which we're always waiting for it to kick in. Full Review

Michael Wilmington
August 23, 2001
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Gries and Morris play this luckless, clueless pair with such understanding and presence that they make Sunny and Lester come alive in every scene. Full Review

Carla Meyer
August 17, 2001
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle

Writer-directors Michael and Mark Polish ... are going for something grittier in their follow-up, Jackpot. Unfortunately, this entails mixing country-kitsch cliches and excessive vulgarity with their ... Full Review

Louis B. Parks
August 17, 2001
Louis B. Parks, Houston Chronicle

Its audience is a very narrow spectrum of filmgoers amused by tiny hints at a joke, or the minor peculiarities of a slightly unusual character. All others, beware. Full Review

Gary Dowell
August 9, 2001
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News

Gets by as a curious look at a failed attempt to clutch the American Dream. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
August 3, 2001
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Despite the engaging talents of Mr. Gries, Mr. Morris and Ms. Hannah, the best thing about Jackpot is the generous spirit that pervades Sunny's on-the-road encounters with three representative but str... Full Review

Jay Carr
August 3, 2001
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

Gries labors mightily, in an imploded way, to convince us that the charmless Sunny has talent enough to warrant chasing the brass ring. But Jackpot is bummer theater.

Paul Tatara
July 27, 2001
Paul Tatara, CNN.com

If you have nothing to say about nothingness, you make a nothing movie. Full Review

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  • in "you got served" how much was the big bounce jackpot?  Answer »
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