THE LUCKY ONE – The Review

Well, with the big-boy action blockbusters right around the corner ( almost May 1, ya’ know! ) Hollywood’s going to see if they can strike gold with another, modest-budget, PG-13 romantic drama ( I’ll resist that sexist rhyming ‘ flick’ term ). After all, last January’s ” based on true events ” THE VOW was a surprise after Christmas hit. And so we have THE LUCKY ONE. But this doesn’t have the ‘true’ subcategory. It’s the latest in a series of film based on the work of prolific author Nicholas Sparks, following THE NOTEBOOK,  THE LAST SONG,  A WALK TO REMEMBER, and DEAR JOHN. So is this new adaptation another pay-out from his mother-lode of novels?

The title refers to Logan ( Zac Efron ), a marine on another tour of duty in Iraq. We first meet him during a particularly nasty night-time fire fight where several brothers-in-arms are shot. That next morning, as he’s going through the rubble, Logan spots a glistening photo. It’s a lovely blonde woman standing in front of a light house. As he picks it up, an explosion hits. Later the wounded soldier awakens and is told he avoided death by just a few feet. If he hadn’t walked over to get the photo….well, his luck would’ve run out. No one there at base camp knows who she is, so after an uneasy reunion with his sister’s family in Colorado ( we get a recreation of the internet videos of returning vets being greeted by their dogs as Logan and his German Shepard Zeus reunite ) Logan zeroes in on the location of his ‘ angel ‘ via the background light house. He and Zeus walk ( ! ) to a sleepy little Louisiana town and meet Beth ( Taylor Schilling )  a gorgeous single mom with an adorable little boy and a fiesty, but adorable Granny ( Blythe Danner ). Beth’s taking a break from her teaching job, a class full of adorable tots, to concentrate on her boarding/ grooming kennel full of ( you guessed it! ) adorable doggies. Before he can explain why he’s there ( shade of Gene and Rog’s ” the idiot plot” ), Kate hires him to help with the pups! Looks like smooth sailing to love-land until Logan runs into the t**d in the punchbowl at this party : Kate’s thuggish ex-husband, Keith ( J. R. Ferguson ) who’s also the chief of police ( a bully with a badge! ).Will he derail this love train?

As I hinted previously, this flick almost drowns in a sea of adorable-ness and cloying cliches. As time dragged on, I started to sympathize with the actors trying to bring life to this turgid screenplay. This may be Efron’s first full-fledged bid to escape the ‘ teen dream ‘ roles he’s been doing for the last few years. An attempt been made to toughen him up with some wispy facial hair ( grow a beard or shave it-we don’t need another Ethan Hawke! ) and a somber demeanor ( he’s got a hair-trigger at his sister’s place) . For a great deal of screen time, he’s eye candy with the camera lovingly showcasing each  muscle and sensitive stare. Schilling is stuck in many scenes trying to control her lust, while attempting to push him aside. Her rollercoaster of behavior patterns in the third act seem unnatural requirements of the plotting. Danner does her best in the wise, straight-talking, nurturing granny role ( the type of role that Shirley MacLaine probably tired of years ago). Ferguson seems to be having a bit of fun as the leering, scheming bad guy ( a more violent version of the jerk he plays on TV’s ” Mad Men ” ), but a half-hearted attempt to redeem him rings hollow. His son exists just to mellow out Logan ( see, he’d be a great dad! ) until he’s put in jeopardy in a clunky rescue finale. Hollywood can make a romantic film that can appeal to men and women if they really wanted . It just takes more originality than what’s been at the multiplexes lately. When film makers and studios really put some time and effort into future ” heart-tuggers”. then each member of the audience will feel that they’re the lucky one.

Overall Rating: 1 Out of 5 Stars