TIFF Review: Paul Walter Hauser Enthralls as ‘The Luckiest Man in America’

The allure of a game show is that anyone could win, and that anyone watching could very well become a contestant. There do exist screening processes and qualification requirements, of course, but the dream of changing everything by going home with a big prize can be quite appealing. There are plenty of possible issues that can come from winning big, of course, and also a number of instances of cheating that make people wonder just how much luck really does go into their favorite game shows. The Luckiest Man in America documents one peculiar case that, in hindsight, probably should have been much more glaring to those who let someone uniquely qualified to win on the air.

When an absent applicant’s name is called, Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) makes his move, heading into an audition for Press Your Luck. He immediately charms Bill (David Strathairn), but Chuck (Shamier Anderson) isn’t convinced, and when it’s revealed that he’s an impostor, he’s escorted out to the ice cream truck he drove all the way to Los Angeles from Lebanon, Ohio. Taken with his story, Bill pushes to have him on the air, beginning an unprecedented winning streak that has the studio audience cheering, one of his co-contestants fuming, and those in the control room wondering just how it is that this guy can’t lose.

This film opens with a note that it is indeed based on a true story and that certain characters and situations, understandably, are composites or created for dramatic effect. Larson did in fact go on the show in 1984 and rack up record winnings. This film begins with the audition process and largely takes place during the actual gameplay itself, with the cameras zoomed in on Larson’s face as his eyes follow the squares closely so that he knows just when to call out “Stop!” and ensure that his banked money increases. The position of the camera is critical since it doesn’t show what he keeps squeezing in his hand as a nervous habit or the fact that the suit and tie he’s wearing present a much more polished look than the shorts he’s wearing to go with them.

Hauser is the perfect choice to play this role, with just enough charm to make Larson feel believable and not too over-the-top while simultaneously offering clues that he’s not saying everything about who he really is. It’s similar in many ways to his first big lead role in Richard Jewell, with both real-life figures displaying a disarming confidence that others don’t believe they should have and earning scorn as a result. That Larson isn’t really playing by the rules or telling the truth about a handful of important things about his life makes him less inherently likeable than Jewell, who was wrongly accused of a very serious and deadly crime. It’s still hard to dislike Larson, and the victim in this case is a studio game show that, as it turns out, wasn’t designed as intelligently as most would like to think.

Hauser leads a top-tier ensemble, with Strathairn delivering a memorable performance as someone who thinks he’s very good at his job but is prone to acts of hubris and preventable missteps. Anderson takes his role seriously as someone who isn’t prepared to put up with any nonsense, and the cast also includes Maisie Williams as the primary liaison for the show to the contestants – an unusually jolly Brian Geraghty and an amusingly angry Patti Harrison – and the Emmy-nominated Fallout star Walton Goggins as the show’s host, who is truly wowed by Larson’s luck. This film brings audiences into the experience of being in the hot spot, reminiscent of a much darker TIFF selection from last year, Woman of the Hour, and living close to Larson’s imagination, which proves to be engaging throughout its run even if the film can’t find new answers to the enigma of a person that Larson really was.

Movie Rating: 7/10

Awards Buzz: While Hauser did take home an Emmy for his performance in Black Bird, he hasn’t been noticed as much for his film work. This film should be a hit with audiences but probably won’t find itself rewarded with prizes.