The Winner's Circle

New Jersey manure salesman Jerry Nearing survives a devastating rattlesnake attack, then abruptly wins $32 million in the state lottery in this thin but cute romantic comedy. The money befuddles placid, easygoing Nearing, but galvanizes his wife, Chelsea, who quickly gets breast implants, has her harelip surgically corrected and jumps into bed with Haskell Cogdon, Nearing's newly retained lawyer. The narrative slows considerably after Chelsea leaves Nearing, who has a potentially costly fling with his duplicitous rehab nurse, joins a support group for lottery winners and unsuccessfully tries a matchmaking service for wealthy men before realizing that he just wants his wife back. New Jersey chronicler Klim (Jesus Lives in Trenton ) delivers clever and funny individual scenes, complemented by solid portraits of Nearing, Chelsea and an entertaining array of oddball secondary characters. The problem is in the story: Klim navigates the lottery clichés well enough, but otherwise offers little beyond stock plot moves and can't-buy-me-love platitudes. (Sept.)