‘The Luckiest Man in America’: Small-Time Conman Wins Big

“The Luckiest Man in America” gets you thinking about how gaming systems are rigged and whether that automatically makes cheating acceptable.

(L–R) Brian Geraghty, Paul Walter Hauser, and Patti Garrison play contestants on "Press Your Luck," in "The Luckiest Man in America." IFC Films

R | 1h 30m | Dramedy | 2025

“The Luckiest Man in America” is based on a slightly-embellished true story that occurred in the 1980s. Paul Walter Hauser is terrific as Michael Larson, a down-on-his-luck, sheepish sad-sack of an ice-cream truck driver. Hailing from Lebanon, Ohio, he’s driven his little truck all the way to Hollywood to audition for his favorite television game show, “Press Your Luck.”

Initially labeled a creep by a savvy production crew assistant (Shamier Anderson), the show’s creator and director, Bill Carruthers (David Strathairn), thinks his viewers will enjoy Michael’s bizarre story. He gives Larson a second chance and books him for the next day’s recording.

(L–R) Brian Geraghty, Paul Walter Hauser, and Patti Garrison play contestants on "Press Your Luck," in "The Luckiest Man in America." IFC Films

Larson spends the last of his money spiffing up at a local thrift store, then heads to the studio where he meets the show’s host, Peter Tomarken (an excellent Walton Goggins). Michael gets ready to play “Press Your Luck.” And as everyone soon learns, he’s got an extremely uncanny knack for it.

Peter Tomarken (Walton Goggins) is the host of the game show "Press Your Luck," in "The Luckiest Man in America." IFC Films

Too Lucky

When Larson’s lucky streak starts to get ridiculous, the audience’s jaws drop, and there’s panic in the control rooms. As the dollars rise, show-runner Carruthers and his team start to sweat and seek to limit the damage. Clearly the man is cheating.

Then there’s the slow realization that, similar to card counting, it’s not illegal if you’re doing it in your head—except how is Larson doing it? Larson had watched “Press Your Luck” so much he'd spotted something nobody else was aware of.

Promotional poster for "The Luckiest Man in America." IFC Films

Senior executives start threatening firings, and junior executives nervously suggest possibilities, as Larson continues stacking his winnings to the rafters. What to do?? The network could simply refuse to air the show, since it isn’t recorded live, and they could refuse to pay out the record amounts Larson is somehow bagging.

However, there is a live studio audience and there’s no way the amounts involved can be contained and hushed up. Or could they? Which option will create the biggest scandal?

Upshot

The main raison d'etre of “The Luckiest Man in America” is questionable; why has it been made at all? It gets you thinking about what its overall message might be. Is it about how systems are rigged against the little guy? And if the systems are rigged—does that automatically make cheating honorable?

The film doesn’t appear to have answers to these questions. It’s never clear whether Larson’s gaming the system is considered a good or bad thing. We can’t figure out if we’re meant to sympathize with the show workers who’ve realized that the fix is in, with Larson, or the big bosses who are only concerned about how much money they’re losing. We’re definitely not supposed to be sympathizing with the pathologically lying Larson, even though Paul Walter Hauser admirably sprinkles some compassion on Larson’s character.

“The Luckiest Man in America” is a breezy, mildly fun watch. While it proffers a fictitious version of Michael Larson, it’s not all that far off from the actual small-time conman who apparently did things such as registering a business under a family member’s name, so as to be able to fire himself, and collect unemployment insurance. Give this crazy tale a look-see if you’ve got nothing better to do on a Saturday night.

‘The Luckiest Man in America’ Director: Samir Oliveros Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, David Strathairn, Johnny Knoxville MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hours 30 minutes Release Date: April 4, 2025 Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]