Even Dustin Hoffman can't get "Luck" to giddy up and go. The HBO drama premieres on Sunday.
For a show about horse racing, "Luck" sure could use an old-fashioned dose of geddy up and go.
From episode one (airing 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO), "Luck" is left at the gate.
It's a travesty, considering "Luck" stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte with the writing of David Milch and direction of Michael Mann. With their credits, "Luck" should be a horse of a different color. Instead, it's insufferable.
Certainly HBO never makes compelling pilots. They're often slow, dry and mechanical. But with "Luck," the stories and characters move at a snail's pace from the beginning and never pick up any speed as the season goes along.
Frankly it's difficult to stay awake during an episode. This isn't the type of slowness that "Mad Men" produces. At least on that series, the stripping away of the characters make up for the lack of actual movement.
"Luck" isn't built that way or that intently.
The characters yammer a lot without really saying anything. It just sounds important and earnest but most of that comes from the fact Hoffman is speaking.
And, well, he's Hoffman. He could make reading the phone book — if a phone book could be found these days — sound vital.
The story of this nine-episode series starts off with the release of Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Hoffman) from prison. As soon as he walks right out of the facility, he's back to his old ways — in a payback scheme involving an expensive Irish thoroughbred he bought.
Gus (Dennis Farina), who is Ace's driver, is the front man as the owner of the winning horse so key points of this payback rests on his cooperation.
"Luck" spends a lot of its time delving into the lives of the colorful characters around the track, including a mumbling horse owner (Nick Nolte) and an awkward jockey agent (Richard Kind).
"Luck" seems to have a lot going on, but none of it seems to go anywhere.
Score: HH (out of five)
Terry Morrow may be reached at 865-342-6445 or morrowt@knoxville.com.
© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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