“Jerry & Marge Go Large” starts as a breezy character study about a couple who basically fall into an unexpected news story late in life.
And, for a while, the overall charm of the tale and the always genuine performers who play the title characters keep the film together.
However, writer Brad Copeland and director David Frankel simply don’t trust Jerry and Marge.
The film opens with Jerry (Bryan Cranston) being forced into retirement after 42 years on the job. His wife Marge (Annette Bening) tries to encourage Jerry to enjoy his golden years.
His family, including son Ben (Jake McDorman) and daughter Dawn (Anna Camp), even gets him a boat, which he accidentally damages trying to get into the water.
Jerry is a creature of precision, and his brain clicks into a new gear when he looks at the odds on a slip for a lottery called WinFall, realizing they could be in the buyer’s favor under certain conditions.
The simplest way to put it is that buying enough tickets would reduce the luck variable to a degree that favored the buyer every time.
Cranston and Bening add believability to the first act of “Jerry & Marge Go Large,” finding truth in the set-up of people forced into new life patterns.
Jerry has gone to work every day for over four decades. What does he do now with his time?
Bening has a few lovely beats as she captures a woman who wants to find new adventures with her husband and realizes that she thinks something is beginning while he’s focused on what’s ended.