Lottery Ticket Movie Review

Lottery Ticket is a very likeable movie starring rapper, singer and now actor Bow Wow. This could be the movie that transforms him into the next teenage matinee idol.

People who play Powerball and Lotto should watch this movie for tips on what NOT to do if they ever win the big prize!

Bow Wow plays Kevin Carson, a nice kid with a big imagination who lives in the projects with his grandmother (played by Loretta Devine). When Kevin is not spending time hanging out with his best friends Benny (played by Brandon T. Jackson) and Stacie (Naturi Naughton), he works at the local Foot Locker. Kevin dreams of one day of running his own shoe design company, but is constantly derided by people who tell him he will never get out of the projects.

The Powerball lottery has just come to town, causing quite a lot of excitement as people in the neighborhood spend their money trying to get rich. Kevin tells anyone who will listen that the lottery is just a racket designed to keep poor people poor. But soon he too gets caught up in the fever, and he eventually purchases a ticket using the numbers given to him in a fortune cookie.

As luck would have it, Kevin’s ticket ends up being the winner of the $370 million Powerball jackpot. But since it’s the beginning 4th of July weekend the lottery office is closed for 3 days. Now most people in that situation might hold up in a motel or their own bedroom for 3 days until the lottery office reopens … but after accidently letting it slip that he won the millions, Kevin folds the ticket into his wallet in his back pocket and spends 3 days walking around the projects.

The rest of the movie deals with Kevin trying to hold onto his ticket as everyone comes out of the woodwork to get a piece of the prize.

Comedian Mike Epps has a short but memorable cameo as the Baptist minister who after learning of the winning ticket tries to get his hands on some of the money. He is faithful to his flock but can’t help thinking about his possible future with that kind of cash. Epps is very funny and it makes you wish he had a larger role.

Loretta Devine is perfect as Kevin’s grandmother who always has a “Praise-Jesus” ready to recite. She is proud of how Kevin is growing up and is concerned about what all that money could do to him.

A couple of old-time gangsters (played by Keith David and Terry Crews) front Kevin a “bridge-loan” on his winnings and become a real problem.

Teairra Mari plays a local gold-digging temptress who tries using sex to latch onto Kevin’s millions. A real hottie, she tries to get Kevin to impregnate her, but he’s smart enough to say no.

But Kevin’s most dangerous neighbor turns out to be hardcore criminal Lorenzo (played by Gbenga Akinnagbe). Lorenzo already dislikes Kevin because Kevin refused to give him free shoes from Foot Locker. So when Lorenzo learns that Kevin is walking around with $370 million in his pocket he decides that he will stop at nothing … including killing … to get that money.

By far funniest character with the best lines has to be Kevin’s best friend Benny. He is always trying to come up with the “big ideas”, and when he sees that Kevin is being harassed by everyone he passes on the street he comes up with an absurd but very funny plot to escape the town using an old Underground Railroad map from his high school history book. Fantastic.

Lottery Ticket is a very cute movie with some amusing and thoughtful commentary about sexual responsibility and the need to be charitable to your community.