Lucky Numbers

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

When Travolta plays, everybody has a good time.

Baltimore Sun Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

Ephron's attempt at dark humor isn't a complete payoff overall in Lucky Numbers, but it doesn't fail either.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

An unsteady stab at noir.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A comedy of bad manners with many punchy moments and many irritatingly glib ones.

TV Guide Frank Lovece

Amusing and at times uproarious.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Tends to beat some plain unfunny material to death.

Miami Herald Sara Wildberger

Lucky Numbers is like stuff bought at an outlet mall. Sure, it's got the brand names and designer labels, but the color's a little strange, the style a little off, and nothing fits just right.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Pretty funny caper comedy.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The characters she (Ephron) invents are not very interesting, and aside from the always reliable Travolta, the performances are uniformly aligned.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

At times, it's downright nasty; and that's when I like it best.

USA Today Andy Seiler

Lucky Numbers is anything but lucky for stars John Travolta and Lisa Kudrow.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

This invitation to look down upon the stupidity of numskulls is one that should be declined as swiftly as a call to poke fun at Special Olympians.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Clever and diverting dark comedy.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

There's something refreshing about the way it invites us to splash around in its little wading pool of amorality.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Despite a few tangy black comic moments, Lucky Numbers' is bummer theater.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The plot becomes a juggling act just when it should be a sprint. And there's another problem: Is it intended as a comedy, or not?

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Ephron, try as she might, can't give her codified champagne spin to a Resnick script that all too quickly runs out of fizz.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

Whatever the amount on Roth's paycheck was, it's the only truly charmed sum Lucky Numbers has to offer.

Film.com Robert Horton

Nasty, regularly amusing black comedy.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The laughs are few in this inert, ungenerous comedy.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Resnick's script never engages, the stars can't find the keys to their broadly played characters, and Ephron's direction is harrowingly out of sync.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A few mildly amusing gags don't outweigh the trite situations and mean-spirited attitude of this comedy.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

As lifeless and unfunny as a corpse on a slab.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

A weak-witted comedy.

Film.com Gemma Files

Ephron is still a director whose movies veer uncomfortably between the good -- make that adequate -- "You've Got Mail", the bad "This Is My Life" and the ugly Lucky Numbers. Pity.

Time Richard Schickel

Occasionally funny but mostly desperate, small-minded and uncompelling.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Strictly a minor-league late fall entry.

Village Voice Melissa Anderson

From the auteur who assaulted us with "Sleepless in Seattle" comes a more punishing film.

LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

Airless, joyless, worse than you could even imagine.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Painfully lame and hamstrung by a viciously unfunny sense of humor.