I thought when I rented this that it was going to be a little more of a study of the lottery that tried to show why it seems to be such a blessing for some people and more often a curse for others. While this film certainly touches on those subjects, for the most part the lottery is just used as a common thread that ties these different people together, and I was nicely surprised at how interesting their stories are and how candid they are in revealing their mistakes and fears.
A lot of the film concentrates on Phylis, one of a group of small town Minnesota cafeteria workers who won a $100 million powerball lottery. While she is really sweet and is a great character, I personally was more drawn to Louie, a New York City electrician who was one of the first big lottery winners ever in the late 70s. To hear his stories of how his life was turned upside down by instant celebrity status, only to have it all taken away when he no longer had the money is a really fascinating comment on American society, and is as pertinent today as it was then (in many ways even more so). There is some great historical footage of him on all the big TV shows, hobnobbing with celebrities and living large, which is shocking in contrast to his life now in a rundown Florida retirement community.
Also fascinating is the case of Curtis, Louie's friend and fellow winner, who similarly lost all of his lottery money but ended up a drug addict before becoming a minister to prison inmates. You genuinely get the feeling that he is happier without the millions of dollars, just because he is now working to help others. While the pacing is a little slow, I really loved hearing about these people's experiences, and by the end of the movie I really felt as if I actually knew these people. I'd be curious to see a follow up on them in a few years to see how their lives have further changed.