This article discusses the ending of the Paramount+ film Jerry & Marge Go Large, which includes spoilers.
Film critic M.N. Miller said of Jerry & Marge Go Large, “Despite the joy of watching Bryan Cranston breaking good, the movie falls apart under the weight of its feel-good storytelling.”
Based on Jerry Fagone’s article of the same name, this incredible true story is about Jerry Selbee (Bryan Cranston). The line he supervises at the local factory closes down so he retires, by force if we are being honest. Jerry didn’t want to retire, but he accepts it. He is conservative, having a nice nest egg, but refuses to let his accountant place it in more aggressive investments. However, Jerry is a creature of habit and needs to see the math and know the odds. To pass the time, Jerry grabs his morning coffee at a local gas station and reads the fine print of a lottery game called Winfall. If the jackpot goes over the top prize of $5 million, and no one wins by matching six numbers, the money “rolls down” to winners of the pot who matched three numbers or less.
Jerry spends a large sum of his and his wife’s savings on the first bet and has a few thoughts. He keeps putting the money back in and keeps rolling in hard cash. When Jerry accidentally admits to gambling with their life savings, Marge is surprisingly up for it. (Like most investors, after gaining back his initial investment, he is now just gambling with the spoils). It’s refreshing to see his wife, Marge (Annette Benning), excited over the idea. So many in other movies would have the trope of a nagging and bickering woman. Here, Marge wants to start to reignite her life again and doesn’t want to watch Jeopardy at home anymore.
Paramount+ film Jerry and Marge Go Large ending explained.
Jerry is a real good guy. When Michigan closes the game, they find Winfall is still open in Massachusetts. When they keep winning, Jerry opens up a corporation to help save the struggling town and the residents he calls friends. With the help of a local “Masshole” (Rainn Wilson) who owns a gas station with one lotto machine, they build an impressive wealth. That’s until a Harvard student named Tyler (Uly Schlesinger) also figures out the loophole. He wants Jerry to join his group, and when he refuses, he attempts to undercut Jerry. He even threatens to endanger Jerry’s future if he continues. Luckily for Jerry and Marge, Tyler’s group abandons him, a Spotlight story publishes Tyler’s doings, and his father pulls him out of school.
The story causes the state lotto to pull the machine from their favorite gas station. Now, with the threat from Tyler, Jerry backs out, even with this being the last big score where the Selbee’s can work full-time and let the company make money for them through investments. However, by the time his mind is changed to get back in the game, it is too late. He is only one man, and even with his wife, the number of tickets they would have to buy would be impossible.
It is reopened when Jerry drives into the middle of the town square. Each member of the group in town took a gas station in Massachusetts, bought their tickets, and went back. The town even booked a big name to sing, Tori Kelly, to celebrate the occasion. (Even though everyone kept wishing for Steely Dan). The film ends with Jerry going to count each ticket. And before the credits roll, it is explained Jerry and Marge won $27 million for their town.
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