“Jackpot” Review: What If “The Purge” Was A Slapstick Comedy?

“This is not a test. The rules are fairly simple. The winner of the Jackpot has to survive until sundown. It’s a no-holds-barred event that could bring out the entertainment. Weapons, except firearms, are allowed in this pursuit. May the odds be in your favour.”

Hold up, why does this sound so familiar?

In Paul Feig’s latest dark comedy on Prime Video, a “Purge” – albeit for one person – is employed in a near future where an era of great depression has already occurred. So, the economy is dead in 2030. People are down on their luck, so the state of California comes up with a ‘brilliant’ solution!

“Let’s employ a Grand Lottery!”, said one politician, to which the other bigwigs, nodded in agreement. “Let’s make it so that one person wins it, but whoever manages to kill that individual can effectively loot that cash for oneself”.

Our lucky – or not so-fortunate – winner in this tale is Katie Kim (Awkwafina), a wannabe actress looking for a shot at stardom under Hollywood’s scrutinizing gaze. When she arrives in California, she’s shell-shocked to see the state in such disarray – we’re talking plundering, daylight thieveries, stepping on innocent hobos in the street and throwing empty Dunkin cups at their feet. Oh, it’s nasty.

Paired up with an outlandish AirBnB host, Katie’s woes have already begun but all that is amped up to an 11 when she is announced as the winner of the Jackpot! With that, a mark is placed on her head instantly. Chaos ensues in the production house until one hunk of an agent, suited up, crashes in to save her.

Enter Noel Cassidy (John Cena), an amateur lottery protection agent who immediately draws her out from the burning chaos. He’s strong, he’s skilled, but he’s also the type of person who would pull out pinky promises with you. A Hufflepuff, which he uses to describe himself and his lovely, genuine personality, is simply who he is. Patience, dedication, and loyalty are qualities associated with the Hufflepuff and he exhibits all of those.

Nevertheless, he does come with a price, which is a share of her winnings when she survives the duration. Even though Katie’s sus alarm does go off – can’t blame her everyone is after her jugular – her gut tells her to follow Noel. So, she pulls through, surviving a bunch of crazy bikers with Molotov cocktails and a hunger for that price tag.

The issue with “Jackpot!” is that one point after this, it runs out of the road, plunges into a hole and never quite manages to climb out. You see, up until that moment, there had been a steady momentum with the road rage, the nut bashing, and even Kardashian wax-model desecrations. Katie and Noel survive multiple occasions on their own with the resources they have, till they even manage to hide out in Machine Gun Kelly’s panic room, with an equally bonkers cameo from Colson Baker himself.

However, everything changes with the emergence of Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), whom Noel contacts out of desperation. Why Louis? Oh, it’s due to Noel’s history with him and how they had been partners a long time ago. Katie and Noel are brought to a secure facility where Louis’ agents offer her upgraded protection, with a higher cut of the lottery winnings.

Don’t get us wrong, the premise was already absurd, but it had its charm while the action was focused on Cena and Awkwafina. Simu’s Louis entering the picture at such a late stage just leads to a contrived second and silly third act that doesn’t quite live up to the ideas established in the first. Besides, Louis is no longer a partner but a foil for Noel, which again, doesn’t have a lot of setup prior.

Furthermore, for a film that shows all the failures of the system at the start, there isn’t much payoff by its end. Some aspects of this dystopian reality are simply brushed aside and everyone goes their jolly way, eerily smiling after the bloodlust. Whatever critique it had of consumerism or capitalism during the start is ignored. There was so much to say, but it ended up being an empty can by its end.

When it comes to Awkwafina, we want to say that yes, people need to know that she does exist out of the animated animal voice role bubble and she is by no means, terrible in the roles she chooses. It’s her comic wit. It’s what she slays. Just watch “Quiz Lady”, or if you want something out of the norm, it would be “The Farewell”.

So, pairing her with John Cena, who equally steals the screen with his comedic smarts was a smart choice as they both bring their game into this slapstick dynamic. It works, and they are an entertaining lead duo.

On a side note, it is rather strange to see Awkwafina and Simu reunited on-screen before a “Shang-Chi” sequel is announced. And her character’s name is Katie? Come on, are you playing with us, Mr. Feig? Or do you know something we don’t?

While it has its many issues, in the end, we still had a little fun watching Awkwafina be Awkward-fina and John Cena adjusting attitude with his arms. It’s not going to change lives but it is a fair outing that does have its moments of character, heart, and silly hijinks (although a little contrived) that will entertain the goofball in all of us.

“Jackpot” is currently streaming on Prime Video.