The debut piece for writer /director Hue Rhodes is a mediocre southwestern flavored comedy telling the tale of a compulsive gambler running away from the Vegas life to search for an extremely ordinary and simple life. Though entitled inappropriately for the storyline the film benefits from the uplift given by the cool cast consisting of Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Peter Dinklage, and Sarah Silverman.

The film opens with John (Buscemi) purchasing lottery tickets worth $1,000 at a gas station in Vegas. The next scene takes viewers back few days earlier when John was a simple, bland, and ordinary guy working as an insurance claims adjuster at an auto company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His decision to move to a boring day-today life was an attempt to escape from his past gambling addiction in sin city. Unfortunately, he finds himself taking a trip back to Vegas and facing temptations once more when his boss, Mr. Townsend (Dinklage) sends him to join the company’s best fraud investigator, Virgil (Malco). Together, the duo would investigate a questionable car accident outside Vegas. Aside from the current issues and twists he’s facing in life, his attention is also drawn to his sweet, flirty, and busty co-worker Jill (Silverman). She may be the key to helping John regain order back into his personal life.

Numerous scenes in the film focus on John and Virgil’s travel on the road. Along the way they chance upon an assortment of weird, out-of-this-world characters including a naked man (Tim Blake Nelson), a handicapped stripper (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a crazy park ranger (Jesse Garcia), and a carnival human torch (John Cho). Bypassing several complications and problems, John begins to assert himself but at the same time comes to a realization that escaping addictions is near to impossible.

The driving force for the film is lead actor Buscemi himself. No actor could fit more perfectly in the role of a gambling addict than him. His performance is very believable that viewers might suppose Buscemi is really engaging on the game in real life. Watching him on-screen elicits two reactions: sadness and joy. Ironically, he is able to deliver enjoyment as he pours his money on games and sadness on losing in the end and his desperation to escape from the temptations plaguing him. His performance deserves much praise. Thanks to him, the movie is carried well despite several drawbacks on the plot.

Aside from his individual charisma, his partnership with Malco is positively noticeable as well. Though the two make an odd pairing, their relationship with each other and encounters takes the spotlight immediately. It’s easy to like the team-up of the two actors and their antics. Most laughs from the film however are attributed to the funny long-distance relationship between Silverman as the psychotic girlfriend and Buscemi.

Unfortunately, the film is weighed down by Rhodes’ very own concept and storyline. Apparently, a major flaw in one scene depicted the writer-director’s lack of attention and focus on simple details concerning production. The controversial scene is at the beginning where John purchases lottery tickets at Vegas. It has long been known that no lottery exists in the state. Knowing this is Rhodes’ debut feature, the major mishap it still forgivable.