While he is currently pondering a Freddie Mercury biopic, The Queen helmer Stephen Frears debuted his most recent film at Sundance this year, and it was’t pretty. Eviscerated by many, including us, Lay the Favorite features a strong cast of Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta Jones, Joshua Jackson and Vince Vaughn.
Unfortunately, it looks like aren’t put to good use, as we called the “baffling dud,” a “by-the-numbers, hollow experience, only worsened by the dedication to this un-cinematic story.” The first trailer, coming in from the UK thanks to HeyUGuys, is snappy enough to not convey the reportedly dull nature, but one can get a grating vibe already. Check it out below as audiences will get to judge for themselves later this year, when The Weinstein Company expects to release the film.
Synopsis:
Beth Raymer is a beautiful girl with a big heart who leaves her dancing job at a Florida strip club to become a Las Vegas cocktail waitress. Not exactly an ideal career choice, but her borderline-ditzy personality doesn’t give her many options. In walks Dink, a professional sports bettor who sees through her bubbly exterior and offers her a job placing wagers all over town to gain an advantage over the casinos. Her surprisingly impeccable mind for numbers soon cements her status as Dink’s good-luck charm, until his gorgeous-but-frigid wife, Tulip, starts to get jealous. Faced with no other choice but to fire Beth, Dink’s luck runs out when she heads to New York to work for a smarmy bookie, a turn of events that lands her squarely on the wrong side of the law.
Lay the Favorite is hitting theaters this June in the UK, with a fall release planned in the US.