If you’re not one to place bets, the title of this movie might be a bit misleading at first glance. Take a closer look, though, and you’ll see that there’s more to this movie than the title alone suggests. Based on the memoirs of 36-year-old American journalist Beth Raymer, “Lay the Favourite” is a light-hearted comedy about her brief foray into the sex industry and her experiences in the fast-paced world of sports betting. Although the original book received rave reviews in 2010, the movie received harsh ratings shortly after its release, just two years later. Those who anticipated the same characteristic intensity of director Stephen Frears’ previous works were disappointed when the final product fell short of their expectations. While “Lay the Favourite” is nothing like her Academy Award-winning drama “The Queen,” it never promises to be anything other than what it is: the true story of a 24-year-old woman who makes mistakes. she learns valuable lessons and has a little fun along the way.

Venturing away from her usual complex roles in movies like “The Prestige” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Rebecca Hall proves quite believable as young Beth. Her character, though naive and impulsive of hers, is quite likable, and you quickly find yourself rooting for her success. Her story follows her on her journey from private dancer in sunny Florida to cocktail waitress in Las Vegas, where she meets professional gambler Dink (Bruce Willis), who eventually leads her in a completely different direction.

Willis’s character is somewhat reminiscent of his role on “The Whole Nine Yards” as hit man Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski, whose irony is almost too good to be true. Fast forward a bit and the smooth-talking bookie, who can instantly see past Beth’s goofy exterior, convinces her to quit her job as a waitress and come work for him. Immediately, she demonstrates a knack for numbers and excels at work. Everything is going smoothly until Dink’s wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) becomes jealous of their growing relationship, which seems to extend beyond the strictly professional. Zeta-Jones does an outstanding job as spoiled and snobbish Tulip, who will do everything in her power to keep her husband’s ambitious young co-worker from getting close to her man, even getting him to fire her despite the great blow to the business without it. .

When Beth realizes that things are no longer going as well as she had hoped, she decides it’s time to start over. Her new boyfriend Jeremy (Joshua Jackson) convinces her to move with him to New York in search of a better life and more opportunities. The character of Jackson, her first role in a movie since 2008, is charming, but she has a much smaller role than fans expected. Still, he’s charming and personable on screen.

Not long after arriving in New York, Beth returns to the world of gambling. This time she gets a job working for Rosie (Vince Vaughn), a bad boy type with his hands in all sorts of illegal and overseas gambling activities. Although Vaughn’s character is somewhat hard to believe that he isn’t a criminal version of himself, he teaches Beth an important lesson about herself and what she wants out of life. This is of course only after he manages to get her into a ton of trouble.

Overall, “Lay the Favourite” is a lovely story in which we see the main character getting in and out of trouble more times than can be counted on one hand. One might find some of the problems he faces implausible or even impossible if they were not based on real experiences. When asked about the film’s accuracy, Raymer claimed last year that while it’s startlingly real, a lot of detail obviously gets lost when trying to collapse four years of one’s life into a ninety-minute script. He also stated that despite the different ending and the fictional addition of Holly (Laura Prepon), he thought the writer (DV DeVincentis) did an excellent job. Whether you’ve read the book or not, “Lay the Favourite” is a light-hearted, easy-going comedy that’s certainly worth watching.