Douglas Hodge plays an electrician in this film about a dream shared by most of the working class: to win the lottery. In "It Could Be You" the dream comes true. But there's a catch. Hodge had concealed the winning ticket in a book called "The Gourmet Guide to Sex". Unfortunately, the wife got rid of the book, along with the ticket, not knowing what lay within the pages, and so begins an unusual chase, as Hodge frantically attempts to retrieve that elusive piece of paper worth millions of pounds.
Throughout the film the ticket passes from hand to hand, all completely unaware of its significance. At one point the ticket even gets folded into a paper plane. As time goes on, one desperate man turns into an entire mob, running after a little piece of paper that could change life so dramatically.
"It Could Be You" is a rather improbable farce that shows us how far we will go for the sake of money. Greed is a quality of human nature that can drive us to extraordinary lengths. While it's true that money makes the world go round, it's also true that money makes people go round the bend. In this film about the treasure hunt to end all treasure hunts, there are moments of true silliness. There has been a lot said about money over the years, how money is power, or the root of all evil, and it's pretty hard to deny. Most of society's problems do come down to money, the lack of it, or the sickening greed for more of it. We are enslaved by it, corrupted by it, totally dependent on it.
While "It Could Be You" is meant to be taken as a comedy, it has some serious implications to it as well. No one who wins a large sum of money can remain unchanged. A world without money would be hard to imagine. Then again it would be a saner, happier one. But as long as we are driven by a desire to get the better of others, to have more than others, we'll never have utopia.
