Written by Robert Scucci | Published
If I ever win the 156 million lottery jackpot, I won’t tell anyone, but there will be signs. First, I would fake my own death, but I woke up a few weeks later wearing a fake mustache and going about my business as usual.
When they are approached by people who say, “Hey, didn’t you just die?” my answer will be simple: “That wasn’t me, that’s a cheater.” When they inevitably respond with “What?”, I say “Huh?” throw a smoke grenade on the ground, then run away because I’ll have enough money available for an unlimited supply of smoke grenades. Then I fake my own death again, this time reappearing a few weeks later with a goat.
I can repeat this process a dozen or more times until the new material is gone. Then I fake my real death and live in my underground place. My mysterious targets may seem like races, but this rock solid plan is nothing compared to what will happen in 2023. Your Lucky Day. Here, a young man wins a jackpot at a convenience store, brags about it, and is soon put in danger by another patron who happens to be hard up for money and willing to do whatever it takes to claim the ticket.
The Evil System, and Its Many Rises
In Your Lucky Daywe are first introduced to a low-level drug dealer named Sterling (Angus Cloud), who is robbed during a deal gone wrong. Not knowing how to make up for his loss, Sterling enters the store for a quick breather. Inside, the store’s owner, Amir (Mousa Hussein Kraish), and a regular customer, Mr. Laird (Spencer Garrett), make small talk while Mr. Laird scans his Mega Ball tickets at the lottery booth to see if he’s won. Also at the store are Abraham (Elliot Knight), his pregnant girlfriend Ana (Jessica Garza), and a police officer named Cody (Sterling Beaumon).
Here’s how it all goes down. Ana and Abraham are getting ice cream, Cody is in the bathroom, and Mr. Laird finds out he just won a $156 million jackpot. Sterling tapes a makeshift mask made from a Mega Ball flyer to his face and decides to rob a store to get a ticket. The ensuing brawl brings Cody out of the bathroom with his weapon drawn. In the ensuing chaos, Cody kills Mr. Laird by mistake. Sterling, now with nothing to lose and everything to gain, shoots Cody, possibly killing him as well.
Sterling closes the store and demands that Ana, Abraham, and Amir help him dispose of the bodies, but not before discussing how they will split the winnings. Everyone is understandably nervous, especially since the winning ticket has been tied to a deadly robbery, potentially rendering it worthless. However, they came up with a plan that, on paper, allows them to exhume the bodies without drawing suspicion, jackpot money, and go their separate ways. Or so they think. The show feels airless until unexpected problems start piling up.
An Unexpected, But Welcome Lead Role Switcherroo
Starting with Sterling’s theory, Your Lucky Day pivots quickly when the hacking gets out of control. Sterling may have earned a ticket to the Mega Ball, but he’s still a low-level criminal thinking one step better. Ana, one of his captors, gradually takes control of the situation, and is the best part of the film.
Ana is nine months pregnant and rightly terrified by everything that has happened, but that doesn’t stop her from getting up. He is calculating, sharp, and quick to map out a contingency plan that makes you wonder what kind of crime lord he was in a past life. What he doesn’t expect is that Cody’s crooked cop family is looking for him, and they quickly close.
Your Lucky Day it’s solid, low-budget entertainment that’s far more appealing than its back-pocket production values would suggest. It tells a simple story, and that simplicity works because of how quickly it builds and how confidently it throws the audience curveballs.
Watching how quickly everyone fixes the situation once they realize they can move on from this and not have to worry about money is part of the fun. Loyalties shift, nerves break, and the stakes keep getting higher as the walls come in, but you’ll want to stick around to see how it all plays out.
As of this writing, Your Lucky Day is streaming on Netflix.
