Lucky You

Set in the sin capital of the world, Lucky You revolves around Huck Cheever (Eric Bana), a man with major daddy issues. He can’t bring himself to forgive his gambler father, L.C. (Robert Duvall), for walking out on his mother. Ironically, he’s followed in his father’s footsteps partially and has also become a recognised personality in the world of Poker, turning hundreds into tens of thousands. As for walking out on women, he does it super quick. So fast, in fact, his relationships have expiry dates that don’t go beyond a day.

Enter Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore), a song bird who wears her heart on her sleeve and is way too forgiving, and you think you’ve got yourself the premise for a romantic comedy.

The best scene in the movie was that of beefcake Bana riding his bike down the strip, oozing manliness with his bad boy charms in the beginning of the film. After that, everything just went downhill. It’s as if the scriptwriter was trying to channel the essence of 1951 movie, A Streetcar Named Desire, into the script. Unfortunately, what resulted from this weak attempt is yet another clichéd storyline headed into movie mediocrity.

Sweet small town girl falls for bad boy (who never seems to take off his leather jacket) because she feels she can change him. Bad boy does girl wrong again and again but girl still manages to find the heart to forgive him. He wins a lot of money and they live happily ever after.

This formula might have worked for sappy romantics if there wasn’t another sub plot distracting your attention.

This diversion, of course, has got to do with his apparent daddy issues. Chuck’s resentment towards his 2-time world Poker Champ father retards his talent for reading people’s minds at the poker table whenever the old man is around. But as all intended box-office crowd pleasers go, Chuck forgives his father at the crucial moment – a scene which will draw a few oohs and awws from the ladies.

Sadly, director Curtis Hanson who helmed critically acclaimed movies such as In Her Shoes and the seminal L.A. Confidential could not come up with the same mojo he channelled into those movies and he was unable to balance much less integrate both story plots, even after an 8-month delay in releasing the movie. As a result, we got a confusing product, which left the movie lacking a focal point and with a climax that eventually lulled the audience to sleep.

Poor acting chops by the leads played a part in leaving the movie dry and bland, not that they had much to work with. Bana seemed to have his constipated ‘poker-face’ on throughout the entire film and the only time he seemed to change his expression was when he scrunched his face in anger at the sight of daddy dearest because, after all, his character was for the most part, that of an angry son. That scene brings back memories of the time he played The Hulk, another bad performance.
Barrymore, too, seems to be losing her rom-com likability in 50 First Dates, with her portrayals in recent movies being nothing but dismal and annoying.

Like her last movie, Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant, in which she plays a plain Jane with a talent for whipping up lyrics who’s so neurotic she could have been possessed by Woody Allen, she has failed again to ignite any spark with her on- screen love interest. What results is chemistry comparable to that between chalk and cheese.

Duvall, on the other hand, manages to deliver the goods and was rather convincing as a repentant father who has problems asking for forgiveness. Unfortunately, even he couldn’t save this sinking ship.

So, if you’re thinking about which movies to catch over the week, take my advice and scratch Lucky You off the list. This box office flop is better left unseen because at the end of the movie, you’d be asking yourself if a sleeping pill would have been a cheaper and less painful way to bring on the zzzz.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Movie Details
Opens: May 10
Runtime: 124 minutes
Cast: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall