Lottery Ticket

Director: Erik White Erik White

Overview

A kid from the projects scores the jackpot in the lottery and fights to protect his ticket over the course of a treacherous holiday weekend in this all-star comedy featuring Ice Cube, Charlie Murphy, Terry Crews, and Loretta Devine. With the Fourth of July fast approaching, Kevin Carson (Bow Wow) purchases a pair of lottery tickets and settles down in front of the television to catch the winning numbers. When Kevin realizes he's just won 370 million dollars, he knows his neighbors will all come knocking the moment word of his massive windfall gets out. And he's right, too; before long, the local thugs are looking to take the ticket by force, and the sexiest girls in the neighborhood are begging to bear his children. Unfortunately for Kevin and his grandma, the lottery-claims office doesn't open until Monday, and over the next 72 hours there are more than a million ways the winning ticket could fall into the wrong hands.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2010
UPC:	0883929120796
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Letterbox]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:39:00
Sales rank:	33,134

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bow Wow	Kevin Carson
Brandon T. Jackson	Benny
Naturi Naughton	Stacie
Loretta Devine	Grandma
Ice Cube	Mr. Washington
Keith David	Sweet Tee
Terry Crews	Jimmy the Driver
Mike Epps	Reverend Taylor
Charlie Murphy	Semaj
Bill Bellamy	Giovanni
Gbenga Akinnagbe	Lorenzo
Chris Williams	Doug
Vince Green	Malik
Leslie Jones	Tasha
Jason Weaver	Ray-Ray
Teairra Mari	Nikki Swayze
Faheem Najm	Junior
Fahim Najm	Junior
Stacie Davis	Reporter
Andre Mayon	Officer Ross
D.J. "Bishop" Rogers	Customer
Brittany Eady	Attractive Lady
Timfreit D'Rane	Angry Man
Mike Pniewski	Carl
Sky Cameron	Little Girl
Eric J. Little	Random Neighbor
Taneka Johnson	Random Neighbor #2
Tonea Stewart	Random Neighbor #3
IronE Singleton	Random Neighbor #4
Darryl D. Moore	Random Neighbor #5
Danielle Lewis	Voice in the Crowd
Shantis Thompson	Female Voice
Maria Duarte	Bonnie Berry
Miko Defoor	Janitor
Bobby L. Graham Sr.	Brother Conner
L. Stephanie Ray	Rev. Taylor's Ex-Wife
Lance Toland	Helicopter Pilot
Malieek Straughter	Deangelo
Carl Rydlund	Conductor
Teddy Castellucci	Composer

Technical Credits

Abdul Williams

Erik White	Director
Abdul Williams	Screenwriter,Stunts
Andrew Kosove	Producer,Producer
Broderick Johnson	Producer
Matt Alvarez	Producer
Mark Burg	Producer
Oren Koules	Producer
Ice Cube	Executive Producer,Producer
Timothy M. Bourne	Executive Producer,Producer
Steven P. Wegner	Executive Producer,Producer
Kim Taylor-Coleman	Casting
David Fletcher	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Ice Cube has built a successful film career as a producer and actor in large part because he tells stories that he has an emotional connection to, even if the movies themselves don't seem overly concerned with much more than giving viewers a good time. Lottery Ticket is another example of Cube's acumen. The setup is as follows: Hard-working Foot Locker salesman Kevin Carson (Bow Wow) buys a lottery ticket that ends up being worth hundreds of millions of dollars. When he goes with his best friend, fast-talking Benny (Brandon T. Jackson), to collect his winnings at the lottery office, they discover that it's closed for a long holiday weekend. They plan to lay low for three days, but after Kevin's grandmother blabs to the neighborhood about his windfall, the two buddies have to stay hidden from loan sharks, religious leaders, and bad guys who will do anything to get their hands on the fortune. While the script for Lottery Ticket isn't anything special, the actors give it some life. Bow Wow and Jackson are both eager young performers, and they throw themselves into the material with a commitment that helps sell some of the lame jokes (like Kevin's persnickety boss), and drives home the two or three great ones (like the high-rolling shopping montage). They can't quite transcend the material, but they make it play as well as it possibly could. However, it's Ice Cube who steals the film as Mr. Washington, a retired boxer living like a hermit in the middle of the projects. The character is full of advice, and Cube's comic timing is pitch-perfect throughout his too-few scenes. It's through this character that the movie gets across the big message -- the importance of taking care of your neighborhood and your people. Sure it's a facile feel-good way to try to pin some substance on this otherwise breezy comedy, but it's welcome -- as is the sneaking suspicion that Cube likes getting a chance to take a swipe at all the people who probably started hitting him up for money when the bucks started rolling in from his N.W.A. days. Lottery Ticket isn't particularly memorable, but it's filled with fun little cameos and likable performers. And, if nothing else, it shows yet again that Ice Cube got rich because he's smart and talented, not because he hit the lottery.