Bruce Willis’ output has been somewhat hit and miss over the past few years (and, arguably, throughout his entire career), so at this point I’m never quite sure what to expect when he turns up in a new movie. The fact that Lay the Favourite is directed by Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity) is a good sign, but something about this first trailer makes it feel uncomfortably close to a direct to DVD movie. Of course, Bruce Willis isn’t even actually the lead in this movie; that would be Rebecca Hall, best known for her performances in Ben Affleck’s The Town and Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Based on the book by Beth Raymer, Lay the Favourite is about a woman who gets involved with a group of Vegas gamblers, landing a job as an assistant for a bookie named Dink. It feels like a heist comedy of sorts, but nothing in the trailer is really all that funny. With a cast that also includes Joshua Jackson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vince Vaughn, Laura Prepon and John Carroll Lynch, there are some famous faces but nothing that’s making this a must-see for me. Lay the Favourite hits theatres sometime in 2012; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.