Anna Kendrick’s True-Crime Directorial Debut, THE DATING GAME

This is a memoir, biography, nonviolent true crime, history of the numbers, and a love letter to a mother. Bridgett M. Davis talks about growing up in Detroit in the ’70s and ’80s with the secret that her mom’s job was operating a numbers business from their house, which was a form of illegal gambling at the time–until the state saw the value in it and turned it into the state lottery. It’s a fascinating look at growing up with a secret, a mom who made sure the family was never in need, and how easily you can change something from illegal to legal depending on who wants to profit from it. I really enjoyed the audiobook which is narrated by the author, Fannie Davis’ daughter.

(TW brief mention of past child death, not graphic/ mentions murder suicide, detail/ parent cancer death/ historical hate crime, racism)

There’s a good chance you know of Crazy Eddie without knowing it based on the commercials for his electronics stores that had a DJ yelling “His prices are insane!” At one point his name recognition was higher than Ronald Reagan’s, his commercials were in the movie Splash, and even SNL did a spoof. But behind the empire and money is a story wilder than his commercials, starting with fraud. Yet even though he is responsible for one of the largest SEC frauds in America, he’s still remembered fondly by many.