In Garrett Davis’ Winning Ticket, one impossible stroke of luck sends a washed-up clown hurtling toward the kind of trouble even money cannot fix. What should have been the answer to all of Lenny’s problems instead becomes the spark that turns an entire town against him.
Lenny Brewster (Collin Place), a small-town Oklahoma rodeo clown with a reputation for mooching off everybody in sight, pulls into a gas station with his pregnant girlfriend, Darla (Chandler Ryan), and one big problem: he has no gas, no cash, and no goodwill left in town. Already in debt to station owner Earl (Justin Pfeffer), Lenny goes looking for just a one-dollar loan, but instead of doing the smart thing, he throws what little chance he has on a lottery ticket. Lo and behold, the ticket hits, and Lenny suddenly finds himself sitting on a fortune he was never built to handle.
“…one impossible stroke of luck sends a washed-up clown hurtling toward the kind of trouble even money cannot fix.”
Lenny’s fortune turns ugly fast. The moment people realize he is carrying a $100 million winning lottery ticket, the whole town comes down on him to collect. As word gets out about Lenny’s lottery bonanza, all of his debtors…pretty much the whole town…come out and corner him to collect. There’s no way out.
If you’re looking to become a legit filmmaker, short films are the way to go. Winning Ticket writer/director Garrett Davis shows that he can tell a solid story. Davis nails the tone of this comedic short, and by the end, you understand the stakes for Lenny and his impending a*s-beating. As Lenny, Collin Place backs us into a literal corner, and the question becomes how he is going to get out of this predicament. The ending does not disappoint.
For screening information, visit the Winning Ticket official website.
"…Lenny's fortune turns ugly fast."
