‘Jackpot!’ movie review: Awkwafina’s winning ticket to nowhere is a tax on the stupid

John Cena and Awkwafina in a still from ‘Jackpot!’
| Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

The convenience of watching a tacky flick from the comfort of your couch, without the few dozen ads or overpriced popcorn, often softens the blow of subpar cinema. But not even the most forgiving of streaming audiences could stomach Amazon Prime’s latest attempt at an action-comedy, Jackpot!, which seems to have emerged, fully formed, from the smoldering wreckage of a thousand better ideas.

The latest addition to the digital wasteland of forgettable streaming content, Jackpot! attempts to revive the action-comedy genre with its uninspired slapstick dystopia. Directed by Paul Feig, who guaranteed a certain level of comedic ingenuity in his earlier work, this fresh venture is a shoddy affair from start to finish, seemingly cobbled together from the detritus of The Purge and Squid Game. Unfortunately, even Bridesmaids nostalgia isn’t quite enough to salvage this pedestrian mess.

There’s a tragic irony about Jackpot! being a film about the perils of easy money when it feels like the script was written on the fly, ostensibly for the same motive. The premise, while not groundbreaking, certainly held the potential for some trashy fun.

The film is set in a dystopian Los Angeles where the economy has gone the way of the dodo, and the only hope for the downtrodden masses is the “Grand Lottery,” a multimillion-dollar jackpot that comes with a rather macabre catch: the winner must survive until sundown while the rest of the city is given carte blanche to hunt them down. If the winner makes it through the day, they get the jackpot. If not, the person who kills them takes home the prize.

Enter Katie (Awkwafina), a washed-up child star returning to Hollywood after caring for her sick mother. A series of increasingly improbable mishaps lands her a winning lottery ticket, and suddenly, she’s the target of every money-hungry resident in the city. Her only hope? Noel (John Cena), a muscle-bound “protection agent” who offers his services in exchange for a cut of the winnings. The pair bumbles their way through a series of increasingly absurd scenarios, from fending off crazed yoga instructors to navigating the waxy labyrinth of Madame Tussauds, and, perhaps most menacing of all, the script’s relentless barrage of unfunny jokes.

Awkwafina’s Katie is an odd mix of naivety and smarts, a character designed to be endearing in her helplessness but ultimately annoying in her lack of common sense. Watching her stumble from one perilous situation to another — rarely without some ill-advised quip or pop-culture reference — made watching her journey all the more frustrating. Awkwafina has more than proven her comedic chops, but here, her talents are abysmally squandered on a character that lacks any real agency or depth. Halfway through the chaos, you find yourself not rooting for her survival, but rather hoping she’ll find a quieter corner to hide in, where we can all be spared her inane banter.

Cena fares slightly better, but even his natural charisma and knack for physical comedy can’t elevate Jackpot! above its middling screenplay. Cena’s Noel could have been a real delight, but the writing consistently lets him down. The jokes rarely land, and moments of genuine tension are undercut by poorly timed gags and an overreliance on Cena’s imposing physicality. In a more competently made film, his role could have been a saving grace, while here, it’s nothing but yet  another missed opportunity.

The supporting cast, including Simu Liu as a shady corporate security CEO, does little to improve matters. However hard he tries, Liu’s character is a one-dimensional villain. And then of course there’s Machine Gun Kelly, whose inexplicable cameo only serves to produce some disturbing rectal imagery and to remind us how B-grade the production really is. The less said about that, the better.

Perhaps the film’s most glaring flaw is how Feig’s direction swings erratically between chaotic action sequences and poorly timed, forced humour, creating a disjointed viewing experience. The action is frantically edited to the point of incoherence, with fight scenes that feel more like a flurry of limbs, making it hard to follow who’s fighting who or what’s at stake. Meanwhile, the film’s attempts at satire are clumsy and superficial, leaving us with nothing more than a collection of shallow jabs at consumer culture.

By the time the credits roll, accompanied by the obligatory blooper reel (which turned out to be significantly more entertaining), Jackpot! ends up as yet another forgettable streaming entry, destined to be lost in the algorithmic shuffle. If you’re looking for a mindless way to kill a couple of hours, there are far worse ways to spend your time — but only just.