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Jackpot
Jackpot is the second film by the Polish brothers, whose first film Twin Falls Idaho was a captivating unusual drama about conjoined twins dealing with their isolation. Here they take on a sad sack karaoke singer and his manager as they float from contest to contest in various bars and towns on their way to Jackpot, Nevada and then on to the west coast. Unfortunately the Polish brothers’ intriguing idea, following a celebrity wannabe and his manager as they struggling in small-town amateur contests while desperately denying the obvious, falls short.
John Gries plays Sunny Holliday, the karaoke singer, who has left his wife, played by Daryl Hannah, and daughter to follow his dream of becoming a famous singer, and he tours Midwest karaoke contests in an attempt to build a fan base, and win some cash. Both he and his manager Les have big dreams, and despite the fact that they usually sleep in their pink Caddy and have to scrape up pennies to pay for gas, they refuse to relinquish their fantasy. The film does a good job of mining its themes on the “American dream”, the power of denial, and the willpower of the believer, but it fails in the most crucial aspect. An emotional connection between audience and Sunny is simply not there, and in a methodically paced character study that can spell death.
The film languishes in repetition, and only occasionally parcels out information that could lead to real empathy for Sunny. By the end we can certainly see how sad of a character Sunny really was, but, in this case, realizing his psychological destitution at the end is not enough to fill the emptiness we felt for him before. Jackpot’s themes are worth exploring and premise is unique, but it’s characters are unable to elicit the resonation that is so woefully missing.
** of ****