Director: Scott Hicks
Starring: Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Robert Hayes, Jay R Ferguson
Running Time: 101 minutes
Certificate: 12
Extras: Zac Efron Becomes A Marine, Watch The Sparks Fly – The Romantic World Of The Lucky One, Zac And Taylor’s Amazing Chemistry
The words ‘based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks’ are enough to send some women into the kind of frenzy usually reserved for a topless Matthew McConaughey. Adaptations THE NOTEBOOK, MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, DEAR JOHN, and A WALK TO REMEMBER have each made females reach for tissues and males reach for the toilet bowl. THE LUCKY ONE is the latest addition, and it’s got everything you need for a love story: attractive leads, broken hearts, and a troubled child.
Logan (Efron) is in the US Marine Corps about to finish his third tour, during a rest he moves to pick up a photo when an attack hits the spot he was sat, and quite correctly Logan concludes the picture saved his life. Upon returning to the US Logan seeks the lady in the picture – Beth (Schilling) – to thank her for inadvertently saving his life.
THE LUCKY ONE is a love story, no matter how it’s dressed up the narrative structure will be the same as 3-400 other films –man finds woman, woman’s ex (Ferguson) tries to stop them being together – and the end will be no surprise. Even with all this there is a bit to enjoy: Efron is surprisingly good in the lead; Schilling is inconsistent but tolerable; Blythe Danner adds a bit of authority and gets the best dialogue; and the film fits nicely into its 100-minute running time. On the negative side there is no gratuitous sex, no foul language, and whilst watching I developed raised red itchy patches on my skin, these have since passed. THE LUCKY ONE is inoffensive, unsubtle and indescribably twee, but hey it’s a love story what were we to expect?
Extras: The three featurettes are very short and offer a small insight into the making and background of the film. Although the ‘Chemistry’ feature has a little too much gushing.
THE LUCKY ONE is available on Blu-ray and DVD 27th August.
