Ice Cube thaws 'Lottery Ticket'

The odds of you laughing during "Lottery Ticket" are slim, though they increase if you're a fan of Ice Cube.

"Lottery Ticket" is produced by Cube Vision, a company that gave the gangster rapper an unlikely second career as the star of the warmhearted "Barbershop" comedies. This film, though directed and co-written by newcomer Erik White, also bears Ice Cube's stamp, and not only because the former N.W.A. frontman uses it to once again upend his street-hardened image.

The film stars the rapper Bow Wow as Kevin Carson, a nice kid living in a lousy neighborhood in Atlanta. When Kevin wins the $370 million Mondo Millions jackpot, he discovers that wealth can be a mixed blessing: The local godfather, Sweet Tee (Keith David), suddenly wants his business; the neighborhood hussy, Nikki Swayze (Teairra Mari), wants his body; and the ex-convict Lorenzo (Gbenga Akinnagbe, HBO's "The Wire") wants that ticket. Now Kevin and his best friend, Benny (Brandon T. Jackson), are hoping to stay alive until the lottery office reopens after the Fourth of July weekend.

The film's bit-players - Mike Epps as a tearfully greedy Southern preacher, T-Pain as a sassy bodega owner - are so entertaining you'll wish they were the stars. Bow Wow hasn't a clue about comic timing; Jackson has perhaps one clue; and Naturi Naughton, who was so convincing as Lil' Kim in "Notorious," gets stuck in a boring good-girl role. The real surprise is Ice Cube, in full Shakespearean tilt as Mr. Washington, a doddering old man with spectacles, false teeth and graying beard. It's a small payout, but almost worth the ticket.