Lay the favorite

The movie's savinggrace is Bruce Willis,who gives afineperformance as
Dink Heimowitz, a gamblerwho runs a high-tech, high octanebetting
operation out ofhis Las Vegasoffice. Dink is savvy but he'salso an
addict and, as is true of any gambler, hehas hotstreaks andcoldstreaks.
He'sgreatto be aroundwhen things are goingwell and not sogreatto be
around after a fewbig losses. Dink is the only believableperson in a
movie that deals in caricatures.

The maincharacter is Beth Raymer (Rebecca Hall), a Floridastripperwho
decides to follow herdream andbecome a Vegas cocktail waitress. After
having relocated,she discovers herdesired career isn't that easy tobreak
into ("it's aunion town,"she's informed). Luckily for her,she is
introduced to Dink. She seeshisbig bankaccount and he sees something
other than herboobs and butt. Beth may not knowmuch about gambling but
she's anumberswhiz. Recognizing this, Dink hires her - amove that
doesn't go overwell withhishyper-jealousshrew of a wife, Tulip
(Catherine Zeta-Jones). After Tulip forces Dink tofire Beth,she snags a
job working for Rosie (Vince Vaughn), abookiewho runs anillegal
operation in New York, andfindslove with Jeremy (Joshua Jackson), a
nice-guy journalist.

One of theproblems with Lay the Favorite is that Beth isn't sufficiently
compelling to form the centerpiece of the movie. During thefirsthalf of
the movie,when Dink is around, there's some energy but, once he's largely
out of thepicture, Bethproves ineffective at holdingthe viewer's
attention. Part of it is that Rebecca Hall seemsto be channeling Elizabeth
Berkeleyfrom Showgirls. Anotherissue is thatshe'ssurrounded by
supportingcharacterswho are bland (Jeremy) orannoying (Rosie).
Meanwhile, the movie'snarrativeskates along toward apredictable
conclusion withoutproviding anystrongreason to convince us the trip is
worth taking.

Watching Lay the Favorite, Ifelt like I wasbeingintroduced to a series
of missed opportunities. The relationship that developsbetween Dink and
Bethhasgenuinepromise. It's playful with hint of affection andsexual
tension. But it's dropped far too soon and with toolittle fanfare. Maybe
this is the way it happened in real-life (theproduction isbased on Beth's
memoir) but a filmmaker like Frears should be able to use alittle artistic
license. Then there's the way the movie handlesthe world of high-stakes
gamblers andbookies. There's asense that we shouldglean someinsight
into how these peopleoperate, but thatdoesn't happen. Thescreenplay
glosses over the details. It's hard to understand the stakes for the
characterswhen toolittle informationhas beenprovided about thearena in
which they're playing. I don't expect detail on the level of Casino or Two
for the Moneyfrom Lay the Favorite, but somethingmore than a high level
summary wouldhave beenwelcome. (And this isfrom thedirector of The
Grifters.)

It's been six years since Frearshasmade an arthouse splash (2006's The
Queen earnedhimhissecond Best Director Oscar nomination) and Lay the
Favorite isn't going tochangehis fortunes. In fact, this may behis least
memorableoffering since 1998's The Hi-Lo Country. Chances are, not many
reading this willrecall thatproduction, and for goodreason. It won't
take nearly as long to forget Lay the Favorite. It's the epitome of
mediocrity - not aphrase often associated with adirectorhaving Frears'
trackrecord.