Just Your Luck

"Radix malorum est cupiditas," wrote Chaucer in the"Pardoner's Tale," "greed is the root of evil." In this black comedy the greedy end up just as justly punished as in his story. Five law-abiding people--two lawyers out on a date, a baker, a diner owner, and his waitress--have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to become millionaires when an old man in the diner collapses and dies while brandishing his winning lottery ticket. Instead of calling an ambulance and seeing to it that the ticket goes to his next of kin, they scheme to keep it themselves. This sets in motion a chain of events, some funny, some tragic, which, unfortunately, are not paced with the necessary skill. The movie drags, and would have benefited from cutting and better editing. Nevertheless, it's often quite engaging, with interesting work by Virginia Madsen and Sean Patrick Flanery as scum-sucking lawyers. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau from "Swingers" have supporting roles. Worth a look, but you may find yourself fast-forwarding in spots.