Fix: Hillbilly Heist, Channing Tatum + Adam Driver + Daniel Craig, Family “Drama”
Platform: Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Summary:
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
FYA Summary:
After losing his job, Jimmy Logan decides to turn (back) to a life of crime and do the impossible: rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a high-profile NASCAR race. To do so, he’s gonna need a crew, starting with his siblings Clyde and Mellie, neither of whom really want to be involved. They also need a ringer in the form of hardened safe cracker Joe Bang, but there’s a hitch … he’s in jail, and not scheduled for release any time soon.
The plan is crazy, but the folks involved are just crazy enough to make it work.
Familiar Faces:
Channing Tatum as Jimmy Logan
I love that Channing, likely best known for his sexy roles in movies like Step Up and Magic Mike, can play a “best years behind him” hick-ish character so naturally and effortlessly. (He has talents other than dancing, y’all!) Jimmy’s not a bad guy, and is way smarter than people give him credit for. He’s also super adorable with his daughter. I’d like to see Channing in more roles like this.
Adam Driver as Clyde Logan
Adam, who is a pretty imposing dude, plays Clyde with a quiet sort of patience who might easily meld into the background if he wasn’t a main character. He doesn’t want to take part in his brother’s shenanigans, but he’s supremely loyal and knows when he’s needed. His humor is understated and Adam’s real great at playing the “straight man.” One complaint: The character’s disability (he lost part of his arm to an IED) is sometimes used as a gag—not great, obviously. I know that Adam’s an ex-soldier, so, hopefully, they ran his character by some military folks for a sensitivity review. The character seems respectful, otherwise, but I can’t speak from personal knowledge.
Daniel Craig as Joe Bang
I LIVE to watch Daniel—posh, British, James Bond Daniel—play a hoodlum dude from rural America. Joe Bang, and his unexpected chemistry genius, is a near-perfect character, thanks to Daniel’s giving his all to the ridiculous role.
Katie Holmes as Bobbie Jo Chapman
Bobbie Jo is Jimmy’s ex-wife who outgrew both their relationship and their lower-class lifestyle. Katie and Channing have a great amount of chemistry, but you can really feel that it’s no longer the kind of chemistry that leads to swoon. They’re also a bit more antagonistic at the beginning of the movie, but it seems like Bobbie Jo eventually gets just how much Jimmy will do to make their daughter’s life a good one, and she begins to thaw a bit.
Seth MacFarlane as Max Chilblain
Seth is really good at playing a douchey white guy. Max is a total ass but gets what he deserves in the best kind of way.
Riley Keough as Mellie Logan
I know who Riley is. I swear. But I can never recognize her in roles, even when she’s so great at them. Mellie’s a delight, and obviously the best of the Logan kids.
There are a bunch of other people you’ll recognize in this movie—Jack Quaid, Hillary Swank, Dwight Yoakum, Sebastian Stan, a handful of NASCAR drivers—but all of their roles are smaller, and/or surprises that I don’t want to spoil for you.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Family Movie Night
Although Logan Lucky is a heist movie, at its heart, it’s a movie about family and the lengths people go for their loved ones. I don’t know that it’s super appropriate to watch this with children, but slightly older kids? Adult siblings? Bumbling nephews? Heck yes. The more the merrier. Fill the stands and that weird RV parking place in the middle of the racetrack—post-pandemic, of course—and get super thematic with checkered tablecloths and overly branded one-piece racing suits. (If you don’t want to go official, try slapping stickers all over an onesie!)
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Yard Cups
It took me a while to figure out what these giant cups were called because I’ve never been brave enough to order one when I’ve had the opportunity. But they’re the perfect vessel to drink out of while watching this movie. What you decide to put in the cup is totally up to you, but Coca-Cola seems appropriately on-theme.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Take Me Home, Country Roads
I honestly don’t know how it took me this long to watch this movie; I’m a huge fan of the Ocean’s Eleven/Twelve/Thirteen franchise, and Logan Lucky is an Ocean’s movie set in North Carolina. (Steven Soderbergh directed all of the above … and Magic Mike.) It’s not nearly as simple as one might expect, and it’s surprisingly hilarious and smart. It upends stereotypes as much as it leans into them, and is filled with quotable moments that you’ll want to repeat until you drive your family and/or roommates to drink. (Out of yard cups, natch.)
Bonus music video!
