This is like the US equivalent of one of those Olde English Ealing comedies; lots of great supporting cast, some LOL setpieces that are beautifully integrated, gentle social comment and a plot that everybody can identify with. The racetrack setting is reminiscent of the genre, too. Teri Garr is especially good as the long suffering gambler's wife, and Robbie Coltrane enjoys himself as the window clerk, (funny, but his stock American accent slips a lot!). I wouldn't call it a classic for the reason that the plot makes it all too easy for Trotter. While you do share the excitement as the horses race, you never really get the feeling that Trotter's fate is in jeopardy, or that there is much sense of crisis - Teri Garr threatens divorce but immediately takes it back, the villains are nothing but cream puffs, everybody thinks Trotter's a hero. They even make it clear before the last race: "I'm covered - you can't put a price on a day like that", so the ultimate outcome is slightly irrelevant. It's also too easy for him to break his promise to stop gambling at the beginning; he doesn't feel guilty, he doesn't worry about it, his confidence is never shaken. It's not clear whether his 'good' day is a reward for being honest, his luck just 'happens'. This takes the film into the realm of fantasy wish-fulfilment, as though it was a sort of chick flick for guys. Nothing wrong with that, because the good humour is sincere enough. It doesn't become trite, anyway. I'd say it was fine for little kids apart from the f-bombs and the dubious message that gamblers win in the end, but it looks like they had fun making it.
Review of Let It Ride
