We all love a good underdog story, especially when it comes to those that centre on ordinary folk going up against some systemic issue and emerging victorious. This was exactly what Jerry Selbee and his wife Marge, a happily retired couple from a small town in Michigan, did when they discovered a flaw in the state lottery that allowed them to make a considerable fortune, all through betting around a certain loophole that guaranteed that they would win a decent amount every time they played. Their story has become the subject of near folklore amongst those who have an interest in these wonderfully peculiar stories of everyday individuals challenging the system, and has now been dramatised in Jerry and Marge Go Large, a delightfully irreverent and wonderfully heartwarming film, based on the article by Jason Fagone, and directed by David Frankel, who brings together a gifted cast to bring this hilarious and endearing story to the screen, looking at the peculiar misadventures of a pair of happy-go-lucky retirees that decide to spend their golden years fooling the system and making a fortune along the way, rather than the tranquil life they had originally envisioned for decades. It’s a charming film that has many compelling ideas, but none that are too excessively complex or difficult to follow (with the exception of actually trying to understand how the loophole works, which can be slightly incomprehensible at first), offering us an entertaining glimpse into the exploits of a pair of unexpected heroes, proving that it truly is never too late to start over.

Frankel has carved out quite a good niche for himself as the director of a very particular kind of film, telling stories that may seem simplistic on the outside, but possess a certain elegance when put into practice. They’re films designed mainly as diversions, based around targetting a more commercial audience than the niche one that he was mainly aiming at earlier in his career. Jerry and Marge Go Large is the quintessential Frankel film – a charming, delightful comedy focused on ordinary people finding themselves in a precarious situation, which they manage to get out of through a combination of resourcefulness and dumb luck, which is exactly the kind of structure needed in fictionalizing the true story on which this film is based. It takes a much deeper (and possibly far more serious) story and condenses it into a format that is palatable to broader audiences, but not dismissive in a way that it feels like it is being condescending. This is a solid, well-crafted comedy that contains all the right jokes, and knows exactly where to place them. A more cynical view is that Frankel’s films often pander to a common structure, to the point of almost being formulaic. However, absolutely nothing about Jerry and Marge Go Large suggests that this was aiming to be anything other than a genuinely enjoyable film, so while it may sacrifice some complexity in favour of being an accessible and fun story that highlights a few endearing themes, it seems like a relatively fair trade, especially for a film that is not striving to be much more than the total sum of its parts, which is exactly the case here. 

Jerry and Marge Go Large is a film focused on exploring the rabid betting spree of the titular couple, as well as looking at their dynamic and what they represent outside of this specific story. As a result, we find the film becoming a remarkably well-made character-driven comedy, where the two lead roles are occupied by a pair of incredibly talented actors, who are doing some of their most entertaining work in years. Bryan Cranston is given another opportunity to show his comedic side, which was what most of us associated him with prior to his movement towards more dramatic work, while Annette Bening (who has mostly been a dramatic actress) is given a similar opportunity to have some fun with a role, since most of her comedic parts have been in slightly more bittersweet fare, like Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right. Pairing these two gifted veterans was an excellent decision, especially since they manage to create such a unique dynamic, embodying these Midwestern characters in a way that highlights their plainness, but is never mocking or in any way unnecessarily mean-spirited, which a more subversive film may have emphasized had it been made by someone who was more focused on the details of the story, rather than the more upbeat side of it. They have terrific chemistry, almost to the point where we are shocked that this is their first time working together – it’s not often we find two actors of their stature being able to coagulate into almost a single entity, but if anyone was going to achieve it, its almost certainly going to be these two masters of their craft, who may not be doing their best work, but are certainly having fun in the meantime, which isn’t anything to dismiss, especially since they are doing exactly what the film required, and finding the joy in a very simple story.

However, as much as we could wax poetic about how lovely and effective Cranston and Bening are in this film, Jerry and Marge Go Large is much more invested in something slightly deeper, which is primarily looking at the broader implications of the narrative, and how the story of Jerry and Marge is much more than just an example of two people finding a loophole and gaining a massive advantage. As saccharine as it may be, this film is about community more than anything else – it’s not only the aspect of the story that Frankel and screenwriter Brad Copeland structure the entire film around on a narrative level, but its the emotional core, and the source of the eventual conflict that serves as the climax of the film. What is integral here is not that the film does follow conventions (which was only logical, since this was not aiming to be a subversive retelling of their story), but that it does so by playing multiple different notes – it keeps its emotional content tempered and straightforward, and avoids unnecessary sentimentality for the most part, using it only when it is entirely necessary and advances the plot. This allows the viewer to feel like we’re a part of this world, gleefully accompanying these characters and the many people whose lives they impacted positively, on this unexpected journey. The rags-to-riches narrative is certainly not new, and it can be awfully cliched when it is used as a crutch – but when it is done well, it can be absolutely enthralling, and Jerry and Marge Go Large knows exactly how to balance the two, finding the right amount of detail and warmth in a story that could have gone a number of different directions, but mainly benefitted from a slightly more compassionate perspective, which comes at the necessary expense of the complexity a more faithful version of this true story would entail, and as a result, it becomes a much more engaging film.

Jerry and Marge Go Large is a very special film, albeit one that doesn’t demand too much from the viewer, since it aims to be as straightforward and entertaining as possible, using its actors to bring audiences in, and allowing the adorable story to keep us invested, which is pivotal with such a story. This may seem like an effort to just excuse uninspired filmmaking, until we realize that not everything needs to be radical – sometimes, the most effective works are those that just feel like organic, homegrown entertainment, where the characters may be thin archetypes, but they are likeable enough to keep us interested, and their surroundings are quaint and welcoming. The comedy is sharp and hit all the right notes, and the approach to the story is one that is even more admirable, since it looks at a real-life event and filters it through a more accessible perspective, one that can be appreciated by a much wider audience. As a whole, Jerry and Marge Go Large is a simple film with a lot of heart, enough to excuse the abundance of cliches and very conventional structure. It’s not challenging filmmaking, but it’s at least endearing enough to keep us entertained, which is more than enough for 90 minutes of upbeat filmmaking that delivers exactly what it promises, and affords us the right amount of charm and enjoyment offered from the outset.