**Spoilers**
The Lucky One follows Logan Thibault (Zac Efron), a U.S. Marine Sergeant who managed defy all odds while serving three tours in Iraq and having to watch fellow comrades fall beside him. The reason? Cleaning up after the aftermath of a night raid, Logan is lead to a picture of a beautiful girl in the sands, when not even seconds later (where he was standing) and IED goes off. Ever since discovering the photo and being unable to find it's rightful owner, Logan has had luck where most would have seen tragedies. After returning to the States and being unable to fit in with his family, he begins his search to find this mysterious woman. After searching on the internet, Logan and his trusty companion Zeus travel by foot from Colorado to the small town of Hamden, Louisiana* in search of his guardian angel.
Upon meeting Logan Thibault, Beth (Taylor Schilling) instantly feels reluctant to allow a former Marine into her business, let alone her life. There's something about that distant connection to her brother that has her hesitating and unable to accept Logan. Beth and her son Ben live in their family home and run a Kennel business with her grandmother Ellie (Blythe Danner). And while Beth can't seem to accept Logan, Ellie instantly hires him to help with the Kennel and things fly off from there. Beth's son Ben becomes easily enthralled with Logan, happy to have a positive influence in his life. Eventually, after warming up to Logan's sweet nature and hard work ethic, Beth finally begins to falter and allows Logan to take apart her wall, brick by brick.
Keith Clayton (Jay R. Ferguson), Beth's ex-husband and Ben's father, is the town's sheriff and takes an instant dislike to Logan's presence. Still possessive over Beth and his son, he does everything possible to keep Logan away. Including snooping through his belongings and revealing Logan's true purpose of being there.
The Lucky One follows the ups and downs of the emotions of accepting the past and moving forward into the future. You'll feel love, heartbreak and maybe even a little bit of anger as Logan re-finds his place in the world and Beth comes to terms with what happened to her brother.
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I am a hopeless romantic, and I will never, ever deny it. I love being enchanted by a love story that's been brought to life on the big screen. I'll try not to put all girls into a stereotype, but seriously, what girl doesn't like a good chick flick, and hot guy, to swoon over? The best of the best movies always include all the important variables that make a great film: drama, comedy and of course the romance. While The Lucky One, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, does capture the essence of the book, I was a little disappointed in the lack of connection between Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling. Sure they were playing their individual characters well, but when it came to the romance, the spark seemed to only be a flicker. I felt there could have been so much more between them that could have made for one steamy film. I can't decide though if it was Taylor Schilling herself or something else.
Individually I thought they did a rather awesome job. Sure Efron still has some growing up to do when it comes to his acting skills, but he's a far cry from his days as High School Musical's teen hunk Troy Bolton. He's able to grasp more complex concepts and take on roles that are more mature and allow for a larger audience. And you can't deny that he's definitely "grown" up as well. He is most definitely easy on the eyes and I won't lie, he's definitely one sexy man. I've never heard of Schilling until this movie so I can't really judge her progress, but while her connection with Efron was lacking, I felt she played the role of Ben's mother really well. You could see her passion and love for her child and I only wish she could have done that for the romance.
Individually I thought they did a rather awesome job. Sure Efron still has some growing up to do when it comes to his acting skills, but he's a far cry from his days as High School Musical's teen hunk Troy Bolton. He's able to grasp more complex concepts and take on roles that are more mature and allow for a larger audience. And you can't deny that he's definitely "grown" up as well. He is most definitely easy on the eyes and I won't lie, he's definitely one sexy man. I've never heard of Schilling until this movie so I can't really judge her progress, but while her connection with Efron was lacking, I felt she played the role of Ben's mother really well. You could see her passion and love for her child and I only wish she could have done that for the romance.
Overall The Lucky One wasn't an Oscar-nominee worthy made film (then again which Nicholas Sparks inspired movie is?) but it was definitely cute and worth a cheap Tuesday movie night for the girls. The one thing I have no complaints over (besides Efron's beautiful bum) was the soundtrack. I always notice the music, and I quite enjoyed listening to it!
- T
* - Depending on where you get your info from, the plot actually takes place in Hampton, North Carolina (in the novel). In the movie, it's in Hamden Louisiana.
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