TORONTO, Canada—On May 19, 1984, 35-year-old Michael Larson won $110,237 on CBS’s Press Your Luck, thus becoming the most successful single-day game show contestant in television history.
Premiering on Sept. 5 at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Luckiest Man in America is the fictionalized story of that legendary real-life run, which is often referred to as a “scandal” because, as it turned out, Michael wasn’t merely the beneficiary of random fortune. Alas, while its protagonist may be concealing deeper truths beneath his mundane façade, Samir Oliveros’ film (executive-produced by Pablo Larraín) strives in vain to use its tale to say something about destiny, ambition, cunning, and the American Dream. It’s a pleasant and well-acted curio, and little more.
When Michael (Paul Walter Hauser) first auditions for Press Your Luck opposite the show’s creator Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn) and casting director Chuck (Shamier Anderson), he’s pretending to be someone he’s not. While that ruse doesn’t last long and his real identity is colorfully bizarre—he’s an air conditioner repairman who’s traveled from Ohio to Los Angeles in the ice cream truck he drives during the summer—Bill is convinced that he’s precisely the sort of genuine oddball for which programs such as his were made. Ignoring Chuck’s protestations, he tells the schlubby Michael to comb his mop of graying hair, trim his salt-and-pepper beard, buy a jacket, and return the next day for a taping.
