Just My Luck Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)May 11th, 2006
JUST MY LUCK
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
If you're really lucky, you'll find a way to avoid JUST MY LUCK, in which Lindsay Lohan plays a parody of the once promising Lindsay Lohan. The movie has aptly been called her last teen comedy, which it is, even if her character is a career woman past her teen years. The script and the acting in this bad slapstick have all of the maturity and finesse of any of the generic teen movies.
All of this could be forgiven if Lohan could ever manage to make her character the least bit likable, which she doesn't. An actress who was once so charming in THE PARENT TRAP and in FREAKY FRIDAY, Lohan manages to lose all of her appeal in this film. She speeds through her lines like she doesn't care about them. She just wants to sprint through her dialog so she can get finished and get back to her trailer. It should have been easy for her to shine in the picture since her co-star, the ever forgettable Chris Pine from THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT, and her supporting cast are as bland as can be. All she would have had to do is to show off just a bit of her talent, and she would have shined like a flashlight in a dark theater. She is capable of it but never seems interested in trying, as if someone forced her to do this movie against her will.
The premise for the picture, which wants to be the next FREAKY FRIDAY, is that Lohan's character, a young professional named Ashley Albright, swaps something with another character. This time it's not her body but her luck. Although Ashley claims unconvincingly not to know about her luck quotient (Albright is apparently an ironic name), she is the luckiest woman you've ever met. When she heads into a rainstorm, the sun suddenly shines through. And, when she steps into the street, money sticks to her shoes.
As Ashley's mirror image, Jake Hardin (Pine) has car after car splash water on him in a veritable flood of liquid. And, when he finds free money and tries to stick it in his pocket, he finds that it is covered in dog poop. Fecal matter humor is featured in this script, which is low on ideas.
One kiss turns out to be enough to transfer all of Ashley's luck to Jake, a process which they discover is endlessly repeatable. Once she has the curse, you -- although not Ashley -- will be able to see trouble coming from a mile away. Mirror -- she'll break it. Wet paint on bench -- she'll sit on it. Pile of mud -- she'll fall into it. Hairdryer -- she'll shock herself. Installing a light bulb -- ditto. It will be all you can do not to yell out the next disaster before it happens, since all the disasters are so obvious.
I remember, when I was watching the movie, reflecting that it did have a few cute moments, but, for the life of me, I can no longer remember what they were. I've already forgotten them. Hopefully, I'll soon be lucky enough to have forgotten the entire movie as well.
JUST MY LUCK runs a long 1:42. It is rated PG-13 for "some brief sexual references" and would be acceptable for kids around 7 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, May 12, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: [email protected]
***********************************************************************
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
