“Luck is what you make of it” is a saying that has been around for generations to describe the work people have to put into to turn situations in their favor, and perfectly encapsulates the dilemma father and reformed poker player Lucky (Terry Chen, The Spiderwick Chronicles) finds himself facing in writer, director, and producer Gillian McKercher’s drama Lucky Star, which screened at the 2024 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
Already struggling financially with a tech repair company that isn’t pulling in as much business as needed, Lucky, desperate to resolve at least one potential issue, falls victim to a phone phishing tax-fraud scam, costing him thousands of dollars his family can’t afford to lose. With his daughter Grace (Connie Miu, The Boys) stressing over her final college exams, and his wife Noel (Olivia Cheng, Warrior) doubting his truthfulness with her, Lucky keeps the truth of just how dire their financial situation has become from his family and ends up making a decision that could cost him everything. In their youth, Lucky was a successful gambler whose luck at the poker table provided some measure of financial stability, but as is the case with habitual gambling, his obsession with proving his skill at playing games put his relationship with Noel in jeopardy, and he made a vow to never play again. A vow he was able to keep…until the new troubles in their life, and he turns to poker games where the stakes are high in more than one way, as a solution.
Knowing that Lucky is in serious trouble, his best friend and accountant Darren, played by Andrew Phung (Run the Burbs), does his best to persuade Lucky to follow his advice to create a solid and manageable financial plan. Darren, knowing what’s at stake for Lucky, does his best but he can only do as much as Lucky allows him to do. And similarly to Darren, Grace tries her best to help her father, but their relationship becomes strained as the line of responsibility between parent and child is blurred with Lucky depending on her for help and asking Grace to keep his secrets of just how bad things have gotten from her mother.
Gillian does a great job of showing how finances can make and break a family as shame and guilt weighs heavily on them. While Noel does love Lucky, she doesn’t fully trust him to be honest with her when it comes to money. This doubt that she doesn’t like feeling for her husband causes Noel to place herself in a precarious situation where she has to consider having her own financial backup plan that may itself jeopardise the stability of her children’s life.
Set in Calgary, Alberta, Lucky Star is a very realistic portrayal of how people can feel unlucky in their lives despite appearing to have everything a person could want in life. Gillian’s direction and the performances of the cast are what makes this story work technically, and emotionally because these characters are people, we either have in our own families, or relatable and familiar to our own experiences. For who hasn’t worried about how to win against our inner demons and vices, been tempted to make a choice we know is morally wrong but could potentially change our lives for the better, or worried about owing money to the government when tax season comes around.
Happy and stable families must be cultivated, nourished, and cherished, and that takes time, effort, and above all, honesty and trust to achieve, not luck, which Lucky learns by coming to the realisation he can’t rely on his skills as a poker player to win at being a husband and father.
In my interview with Gillian and Andrew for the film’s premiere at Reel Asian, we had a great conversation about how people like Lucky could be dealt the best cards in life and still mess up, why and how guilt and shame change the way we see ourselves and loved ones, and what makes luck, luck.
Lucky Star had its world premiere in Gillian’s hometown at the 2024 Calgary International Film Festival.
Carolyn Hinds
Freelance Film Critic, Journalist, Podcaster & YouTuber
African American Film Critics Association Member, Tomatometer-Approved Critic
Host & Producer Carolyn Talks…, and So Here’s What Happened! Podcast
Bylines at Authory.com/CarolynHinds
Twitter & Instagram: @CarrieCnh12
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