''Lucky Stiff'' is a 2014 American musical comedy film directed by

Christopher Ashley Christopher Ashley (born July 6, 1964) is an American stage director. Since 2007, he has been the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse. Career Ashley graduated from Yale University in 1986, with a Bachelor of Art in Theatre.

and starring

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

and

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in the ...

(in his final film role). It is based on the 1988 musical of the same name by

Lynn Ahrens Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Awa ...

and

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', whi ...

and the 1983 novel ''The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo'' by

Mike Butterworth John Michael Butterworth (10 January 1924 – 4 October 1986) was a British comic book writer, best known for his comic strip '' The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'' in the British weeklies ''Ranger'' and ''Look and Learn''. Life Butt ...

Cast

* Dominic Marsh as Harry Witherspoon *

Nikki M. James Nikki Michelle James (born June 3, 1981) is an American actress and singer. James has performed in the popular stage musicals ''The Book of Mormon'' and ''Les Misérables'', her role in the former having earned her a Tony Award. Life and caree ...

as Annabel Glick *Pamela Shaw as Rita LaPorta *

as Vinnie Di Ruzzio *

as Luigi Guadi *

Don Amendolia Don Amendolia (born February 1, 1945 in Glassboro, New Jersey) is an American actor. Career He played Big Al Kennedy in NBC's soap opera '' Sunset Beach'', had a recurring role on ''Twin Peaks'', and appeared in one episode of ''Cheers''. Am ...

as Uncle Tony *

Katherine Shindle Katherine Renee Shindle (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and AIDS activist. She is currently serving as the President of the Actors' Equity Association. She was Miss America 1998 in 1998 and Miss Illinois in 1997. ...

as Dominique *

Mary Birdsong Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She has worked in the theater and voiceover work and is a regular cast member on '' Reno 911!'' Early life Birdsong was born in Florida and grew u ...

as Maid *

Anthony Skordi Anthony George Skordi is a British-American actor. He is best known for his roles as Admiral Garrick Versio in '' Star Wars Battlefront II'', and The Dealer in the '' Hand of Fate'' series of games. In addition to his voiceover work in video game ...

as Nicky *

Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American, Tony-winning actress known for her performances on stage and screen. Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in the 2005 production of ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The following year she earn ...

as Harry's Landlady *Maggie Carney as Miss. Iris Crum *Kent Avenido as Boy Hardwick *

Herschel Sparber Herschel Sparber (born October 18, 1943) is an American actor and Broadway performer. He is unusually tall, at 6 feet, 9 inches. Early life Sparber was born in Gary, Indiana on October 18, 1943. Career A few of his standout roles include the r ...

as Bill Siller *Steve West as Harry's Boss *

Mary Jo Catlett Mary Jo Catlett (born September 2, 1938) is an American actress. She is a main cast member on the animated series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', providing the voice of Mrs. Puff. She is also known for originating the role of Ernestina in the 1964 Bro ...

as Shoe Store Lady *Noah Weisberg as Bellhop *

Cheyenne Jackson Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings. After beginni ...

as Emcee * Jennifer Cody as Mary Alice *

Jim Piddock Jim Piddock (born April 8, 1956) is an English actor, producer and writer who began his career on the stage in the United Kingdom before emigrating to the United States in 1981. Personal life Piddock was born on April 8, 1956, in Rochester, K ...

as Mr. Hobbs *

Juliet Mills Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan ...

as Miss Thorsby *Benjamin Stone as Telegraph Boy *Paul Tigue as Mr. Loomis *

Kevin Chamberlin Kevin Chamberlin (born November 25, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his theatre roles such as Horton in ''Seussical'' and Uncle Fester in ''The Addams Family''. For his theatre work, he received three Tony Award and three Drama Desk A ...

as Fred Mahew III *Heather Ayers as Mrs. Delila Wagstiff-Duncan *

Chryssie Whitehead Chryssie Whitehead is an American actress, singer and dancer on Broadway, film and television as well as a passionate educator, director and choreographer. Early life and education Whitehead grew up in South Carolina. During her first year of ...

as Miss. Coco Blankship

Production

The film was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

Release

The film premiered at the 2014

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

. It was then released in theaters and on VOD on July 24, 2015.

Reception

The film has a 40% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. Wes Greene of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' awarded the film half a star out of four. Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Results are equal parts diverting and strained, most likely to please the same niche audiences who have given the material a modest stage shelf life for the last quarter-century."

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, lucky_stiff_2015 American musical comedy films 2014 comedy films Films shot in Los Angeles Films based on musicals Films based on British novels 2010s English-language films Films directed by Christopher Ashley 2010s American films