Streaming on Amazon Prime
Metadata: 2017 | PG-13 |1h 59m
Genre: Crime Caper, Comedy
Why I watched: As Liz so perfectly put it, "What is not to love about the Ocean's 11 of NASCAR?"
You might also like: What could even sort of compare to this precious gem of a movie? I don't know. Maybe give The Italian Job a (re-)watch? It's streaming on HBO.
This movie is a riotously good time. Daniel Craig (a.k.a. James Bond) as a tattooed, bleached-blonde, redneck bomb maker? Check. (Note: His accent is everything.) Adam Driver (Kylo Ren in Star Wars) as a one-armed Iraq war veteran? Check. Channing Tatum (Step Up, Magic Mike, etc.) as a down-on-his-luck construction worker who is also sort of a criminal mastermind, albeit a very well-meaning one who just wants to provide for his adorable daughter? Check. I went to see Logan Lucky in the theater with my partner, and we belly laughed pretty much the whole time. There's this scene in the middle of the movie that involves a prison riot and an extended Game of Thrones reference, and it is one of the funniest things I've seen. I've watched the movie several times since, and it never gets less funny.
Tatum's character—the Danny Ocean/George Clooney of Logan Lucky, you might say—cooks up a plan to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. But he can't do it alone, of course, so he recruits his brother (Driver) and sister (Riley Keough) to help. In order to implement the plan, though, they have to find a way to break their explosives guy (Craig) out of jail.
Reader, they find a way.
I cannot say enough good things about this movie. Don't let its silly premise and self-deprecating marketing fool you, my friends. Logan Lucky is extremely well-done (except for a little bit of confusion, plot-wise, in the last third of it). Beyond being just plain fun, it's a fairly sophisticated film that sometimes cleverly masquerades as a B-movie. It is original and quirky and smart. It pays homage to to all the crime capers that have gone before it. It is by turns rollicking and sentimental. It is hilariously accurate about Southern NASCAR culture. It is beautifully shot. And amid all the laughs, it features the deep connection and devotion between a good man and his little girl. It's touching, and real, and it will hit you right in the feels. I just know you'll love it, like I do.
Enjoy!
Grace
Comments