'Lucky You' falls a few chips short

You find yourself wanting to like the film, mostly because of its intriguing cast and clever, sharply written opening sequence, when a fast-talking Eric Bana tries to persuade a pawnbroker to take his camera even though she already has three. It turns out to be the highlight of the film.

Bana is excellent as Huck (short for Huckleberry), a slick Vegas card shark who wins (and blows) money with ease. He's not a loser, but he's clearly a lost soul. His days are spent drifting through casinos, picking up games and women with equal doses of swagger.

But he's missing any sense of investment in his life.
Bana plays the role winningly. Given his talent (he was exceptional in Munich) and movie-star looks, it's a wonder the Australian actor isn't yet on the A-list.

Also superb is Robert Duvall as L.C., Huck's father, an arrogant poker legend.

Father and son both have a talent for knowing when to hold and fold their cards. But their relationship is fraught with excessive pride and intensified by Huck's resentment of the shabby way his father treated his mother.
Good as the two actors are, they don't save the movie from a premise that feels worn, with clich d dialogue and drawn-out poker sequences that dampen the emotional impact of the father-son relationship.

It's meant to be a love story on two fronts, focusing alternately on the shaky bond between Huck and L.C. and on Huck's attraction to Billie, a lounge singer played by Drew Barrymore.

Barrymore lacks her usual charm, but it may be a result of the one-dimensional nature of the role. You get the sense that she isn't sure how to play this Bakersfield-bred cipher or that aspects of her story were edited out. We're supposed to believe that the opportunistic and compulsive gambler Huck is willing to give up his vices for the love of this good woman, simply because she shows a little ethical gumption.

The film feels cobbled together to capitalize on poker's recent spike in appeal, with a climactic scene set during the World Series of Poker that is oddly wooden.
This is all the more surprising given that it was co-written and directed by Curtis Hanson, the talented filmmaker responsible for L.A.

Confidential, Wonder Boys and 8 Mile.
Dispassionate and dull despite some strong performances, Lucky You just feels played out.
No cards on the table: Eric Bana is a Vegas card shark who drifts from game to game.