Jackpot

A winning lottery ticket doesn’t offer the usual prosperity and financial security in Jackpot, a frenetic action-comedy that fails to pay off.

Instead, it requires a significant buy-in to its exaggerated dystopian concept and cartoonish tone, unspooling a wicked satire of socioeconomic desperation, moral decay, bureaucratic corruption, and viral celebrity that’s more repetitive than provocative.

Set in Hollywood in 2030, the latest from director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) is like a variation on The Purge played as a broad romp — painting a twisted and anarchic society overflowing with aspiring actors and opportunistic schemers clamoring for fame or fortune, or both.

From the outset, it’s clear the outrageous near-future scenario isn’t meant to be taken seriously. When former child actor Katie (Awkwafina) relocates to California for a fresh start, she’s unaware that the state’s new lucrative lottery comes with a big catch.

It turns out that anyone who kills the winner before sundown, as long as it’s not with a gun, can claim the multi-billion dollar prize. So when Katie’s numbers are called, she suddenly becomes a target — of everyone. Talk about an economic stimulus.

While fighting for survival, she reluctantly partners with Noel (John Cena), a bodyguard who takes a cut in order to shield Katie from harm through the afternoon. That’s not as simple as it sounds, and the situation worsens when Noel clashes with an old rival (Simu Liu) seeking a commission of his own. “How do you think the world works? It runs on money,” he exclaims obviously.

Their adventures include seeking shelter with rapper Machine Gun Kelly (playing himself), plus a confrontation with Katie’s vengeful Airbnb host (Ayden Mayeri) and her boyfriend (Donald Elise Watkins).

Awkwafina provides an emotional anchor amid the ultraviolent mayhem during the rare moments when the ill-conceived screenplay pauses to breathe, and her deadpan bemusement generates some of the biggest laughs.

Along the way, some of the protracted one-versus-everybody chase sequences are staged with the breakneck pace of a throwback Jackie Chan chop-socky flick. Yet despite some scattered episodes of inspired slapstick, the film’s relentless cynicism and bloodlust become tiresome pretty quickly.

Even if you admire its visual flair or go-for-broke audacity, Jackpot is exhausting rather than amusing, ultimately yielding few rewards.

Rated R, 104 minutes.