X
- 2012
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 34 m
- 2012
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 34 m
Summary A dramedy centered on a thirtysomething woman who becomes involved with a group of geeky fiftyish men who have found a way to work the sportsbook system in Las Vegas to their advantage.
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Written By: D.V. DeVincentis, Beth Raymer
- 2012
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 34 m
- 2012
- R
- RADiUS-TWC
- 1 h 34 m
Lay the Favorite
38
5.2
Where to Watch
Summary A dramedy centered on a thirtysomething woman who becomes involved with a group of geeky fiftyish men who have found a way to work the sportsbook system in Las Vegas to their advantage.
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Written By: D.V. DeVincentis, Beth Raymer
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
38
18% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
53% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
29% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 17 Critic Reviews
38
18% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
53% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
29% Negative
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
A small and not particularly ambitious movie, but it's pleasing and exceptionally well made. It was directed by Stephen Frears, and while it's not up there with his best - "Dangerous Liaisons," "The Queen," "High Fidelity," "Cheri" - Lay the Favorite lavishes the same attention on the personal, on relationships, and, like most Frears films, it puts a woman at the center of the story.
A classy cast and Frears' light touch can't help this innocent abroad dramedy into the winner's enclosure. More jeopardy, less laboured larking, and it could've romped home.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 User Ratings
5.2
30% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
40% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
30% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 User Ratings
5.2
30% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
40% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
30% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Lay The Favorite is not a great movie but certainly deserves 6 stars because of the sweet hint of spicy romance which you don't see in Bruce Willis Movies.
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I only love watching these types of film because after reading the mostly negative reviews I can write my own that say's the opposite. This has, at the time of writing, got 4.6 which would tell me that a film is sub standard. I see a cast like this and wonder why. Well this is another case of getting it wrong. This is based on Beth Raymer's memoir. An enjoyable story about a young woman who is looking for a better life and starts working for a professional gambler, Dink. He quickly learns she has a head for numbers and the story begins in earnest. Rebecca Hall is a gifted actor and managed the role with ease. The whole cast were great but nobody had to do anything that caught our attention and that is perhaps the reason this film hasn't done well. Bruce Willis is just Bruce Willis with a different name. Vince Vaughn is the same. Everyone is good but people wanted more I suspect.I loved the film and will watch it again soon.
6.5/10
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Adapted from a comic thriller by Carl Hiaasen, South Florida's day-glo answer to Elmore Leonard, the film missed the fizzy, beach-friendly fun of Hiaasen's work, and wound up playing the comedy and the suspense at half-speed. It couldn't keep up with its own protagonist.
Rebecca Hall's enjoyably bubbly lead performance lends the picture an occasional frisson of amusement.
Particularly disappointing given the names involved, it's only mildly amusing at best, and more often downright tedious.
Screeches and scrambles from scene to scene with manic sitcom energy, much like the cherished pet hamster of one of its characters.
One of those factors must have settled upon the unlucky shoulders of Stephen Frears, who certainly has the pedigree to go all the way. And yet, he stumbles so badly with Lay the Favorite, his comic adaptation of Beth Raymer's memoir, that one is left wondering what could possibly have gone wrong.
I thought the cast was solid going in but the Lay the Favorite failed miserably largely because the protagonist, Rebecca Hall, cannot even remotely act. I don't know how she gets any roles. Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joshua Jackson, Vince Vaughn, etc. all provide solid support but Hall was just ridiculous. The plot also got boring and fast. It didn't have a good flow and seemed to have no real direction for much of the film. Overall there really isn't much point in watching beyond a slightly humorous scene here and there.
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My son introduced me to metacritic today as an alternative to Rotten Tomatos and IMDB. This was the first movie I checked just to see what kind of reviews it got and I was very disappointed indeed. This was undoubtedly the absolute worst movie I have ever had the misfortune to watch. I just totally wasted an hour and a half of both my life and my wife's! Bruce Willis must be getting it tight if he had to resort to "acting" in this utter piece of trash! 6 stars!!! What a joke! Do yourself a favour and avoid this movie like the plague!
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Production Company
Emmett/Furla Oasis Films,
Wild Bunch,
Random House Films,
Likely Story,
Lipsync Productions,
Ruby Films
Release Date Dec 7, 2012
Duration 1 h 34 m
Rating R
Tagline How far can a losing shot take you?
Awards
Irina Palm d'Or
• 1 Nomination
