Lay the Favorite

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Lay the Favorite

R

Released Dec 7, 2012

1h 34m

Comedy

Drama

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18%

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50 Reviews

19%

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2,500+ Ratings

A former stripper's (Rebecca Hall) talent with numbers lands her a job with a professional gambler (Bruce Willis) who runs a sports book in Las Vegas.

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Critics Consensus

A clumsy misstep for director Stephen Frears, Lay the Favorite puts all its chips on endearing quirk only to go bust.

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Kyle Smith

New York Post

Frears has a lot of fun with the bad tempers and high spirits of this crew of adrenaline junkies, and though the story falls a little flat, the script is sprinkled with dry wit.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 7, 2012

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

"Lay the Favorite" is a small and not particularly ambitious movie, but it's pleasing and exceptionally well made.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 7, 2012

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Betsy Sharkey

Los Angeles Times

What has happened to director Stephen Frears?

Rated: 1/5

Dec 6, 2012

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Broad, flat, lugubrious, the worst example of filmmaking that exists.

Rated: 0.5/5

Jul 8, 2019

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Joseph Walsh

CineVue

Despite the combination of bankable actors, a talented screenwriter and a fine director, Lay the Favourite is woefully disappointing.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 23, 2018

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

The degree to which Lay the Favorite fizzles out is ultimately nothing short of devastating...

Rated: 2/4

Mar 30, 2018

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Alex S

Great movie! The most realistic gambling movie I’ve ever seen. Makes sense, since it’s a true story written by the main character. Love this movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/02/25

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Steve D

Not a whole lot to like with this story.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

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jelisije j

A really good movie about a young girl who moves to las vegas and learns the value of money, love, friendship, and gambling.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Nudny. Słabe aktorstwo. Fabuła z czapy, uprawianie hazardu jako sposób na sensowny biznes, głupiutka bohaterka

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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michael t

I watched a little over half of this movie about gambling. The part I watched was engaging enough, and then Bruce Willis's character started losing and it started unraveling. Like any addiction gone wrong, his character became erratic and it wasn't fun to watch. Don't know how it ended, but I expect it wasn't good. Catherine Zeta-Jones was barely recognizable; maybe had some weird plastic surgery.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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barry m

Too "inside" for most moviegoers to follow, this gambling mishmash isn't helped by an over-the-top performance by Rebecca Hall. I'm still not sure if this is a comedy (not funny) or a character study (unfocused). Either way, you can probably survive life without it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Stephen Frears

Director

Bruce Willis

Dink Heimowitz

Rebecca Hall

Beth Raymer

Catherine Zeta-Jones

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Synopsis

A former stripper's (Rebecca Hall) talent with numbers lands her a job with a professional gambler (Bruce Willis) who runs a sports book in Las Vegas.

Director: Stephen Frears
Producer: Anthony Bregman, D.V. DeVincentis, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Paul Trijbits
Screenwriter: D.V. DeVincentis
Distributor: Radius TWC
Production Co: Lipsync Productions, Random House Films, Ruby Films, Wild Bunch, Emmett/Furla Films, Likely Story
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Brief Drug Use|Nudity|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 7, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.0K
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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