The Lucky One (2012)
Directed by Scott Hicks
A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.
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What critics say influenced The Lucky One
It’s an effective, get-out-your-Kleenex model, and the number of books it has powered has been nearly matched by the movie adaptations — “Message in a Bottle,” “Nights in Rodanthe” and “The Notebook” among them — it has inspired.
The Lucky One aspires to but never reaches the grandly melodramatic heights of the über-Sparks adaptation The Notebook, though a reconciliation embrace in an outdoor shower of some sort seems deliberately staged to evoke the earlier feature.
Sparks may have gotten lucky with “The Notebook,” but “The Lucky One” seems only to refer to his status as a successful writer of romantic pap.
Any filmmaker who takes on a “based on a story by Nicholas Sparks” project knows that comparisons to The Notebook will be swift and decisive.
A couple of months ago, I was writing up my review of the melodramatic gumdrop known as "The Vow" and found myself in the faintly ridiculous position of offering a public apology to none other than best-selling hack author Nicholas Sparks, the creator of such shameless soapers as "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember," "The Last Song" and others.
Directed by Scott Hicks (“Shine”), with Will Fetters adapting the Nicholas Sparks novel, this is the latest and the best Sparks-inspired film to come along since “The Notebook” won over hearts, if not minds, in 2004.
Finally, Jay R. Ferguson (2000's " The In Crowd ") is loathsome as Beth's rat of an ex Keith, a couple half-hearted attempts at giving him a conscience coming too little too late for a character who enters the film with a flashing neon sign hung around his neck blinking "Bad Guy."
It’s an effective, get-out-your-Kleenex model, and the number of books it has powered has been nearly matched by the movie adaptations — “Message in a Bottle,” “Nights in Rodanthe” and “The Notebook” among them — it has inspired.
A couple of months ago, I was writing up my review of the melodramatic gumdrop known as "The Vow" and found myself in the faintly ridiculous position of offering a public apology to none other than best-selling hack author Nicholas Sparks, the creator of such shameless soapers as "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," "A Walk to Remember," "The Last Song" and others.
The New Orleans-shot romance " The Lucky One " is, above all, a Nicholas Sparks movie, which -- ever since 1999's "Message in a Bottle" -- has become a Kleenex-devouring genre all itself.
The Lucky One is the latest Nicholas Sparks novel to make it to the big screen, following such heart-tuggers like The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, and most recently, 2010’s Dear John with Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.
The author of such swoon-inducing pop favorites as "Message in a Bottle," "The Notebook" and "Nights in Rodanthe," Sparks gives readers the same warm-fuzzy appeal as a Thomas Kinkade painting, and numerous shots in the film seem to bear the late artist's touch.
Those who can appreciate it on either or both levels will find plenty to adore in the movie, just as in the Sparks movies Message in a Bottle , A Walk to Remember , The Notebook , Nights in Rodanthe , Dear John and The Last Song .
You know, like combine his usual trappings with say, the black comedy, macabre premise of "Final Destination" especially since Death is always lurking around in his works anyway.
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Hollywood is busy trying to turn Taylor Kitsch into an action star, but he would’ve been perfect here, especially considering all the different times on Friday Night Lights that he found himself playing the brooding lover of a single mom (and yes, there’s precedent for both actors in a movie romance being named “Taylor.”).
In fact, that is exactly what happens, and it is one-half of the reason that The Lucky One sucks as a romantic drama, assuming that we can accuse the actors of being cumulatively everything that is wrong with the movie, while ignoring the cliché-spouting screenplay adapted by Will Fetters - whose last job at trying to get a dubious teenybopper to grow up into leading manhood was the R-Patz 9/11 hatchet job Remember Me - or the stiff, pacey direction by Scott Hicks, the manhandler of such leaden dramas as Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis , or the snoozy landscape cinematography of Ala Kivilo, who renders the Lousiana woods in the same training-wheels sun-kissed aesthetic he employed in The Blind Side .
The film is nicely shot by cinematographer Alar Kivilo ("The Blind Side"), taking advantage of typical Sparks' style locations (lawn parties, churches, sailboats, sun dappled rural roads).
Without much tension, the film becomes more of an extended music video of Logan and Beth’s rocky road to love, beautifully captured by director of photography Alar Kivilo (“The Blind Side”).
Director Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars and No Reservations) attempts to distract with pretty montages and long shots of orange sunrises and red sunsets over the bayou.
Director Scott Hicks ("Shine," "Snow Falling on Cedars," "Hearts in Atlantis," "No Reservations") uses the full bag of tricks.
As long as director Scott Hicks ("Shine," "Snow Falling on Cedars") puts these two through their inevitable romantic paces -- in perfectly lit, artfully distressed environments -- the movie more or less sells its disposable soul-mate fantasy.
Directed by Scott Hicks (Snow Falling on Cedars, No Reservations, Shine), the latest offering fits perfectly into the Sparksian cinematic repertoire: It features a young, good-looking couple—this time played by Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling—who are kept apart by life’s circumstances.
In fact, that is exactly what happens, and it is one-half of the reason that The Lucky One sucks as a romantic drama, assuming that we can accuse the actors of being cumulatively everything that is wrong with the movie, while ignoring the cliché-spouting screenplay adapted by Will Fetters - whose last job at trying to get a dubious teenybopper to grow up into leading manhood was the R-Patz 9/11 hatchet job Remember Me - or the stiff, pacey direction by Scott Hicks, the manhandler of such leaden dramas as Snow Falling on Cedars and Hearts in Atlantis , or the snoozy landscape cinematography of Ala Kivilo, who renders the Lousiana woods in the same training-wheels sun-kissed aesthetic he employed in The Blind Side .
Director Scott Hicks (“Shine”, “Snow Falling on Cedars”) lifts this material above the “Dear John”-“Message in a Bottle”-“Last Song” source author, holding his revelations in reserve, trying to maintain mystery about Beth and Logan, even though they’re more character types than characters.
The South Australian is unlikely to ever match the note-perfect success of 1996's Shine , but remains highly regarded for a no-nonsense, lyrical style that seeks to play to the audience's hand.
Director Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars and No Reservations) attempts to distract with pretty montages and long shots of orange sunrises and red sunsets over the bayou.
As directed by Scott Hicks (the Australian filmmaker Oscar nominated for Shine ), The Lucky One features all of the usual Sparks hallmarks yet is played out at a steady pace where its tender love story flourishes to make for engaging, albeit sappy viewing.
But instead, the producers hire people like Scott Hicks, a one-time Best Director nominee (for Shine), who will never be nominated, ever again.
Sparks has been fortunate over the years to see a handful of savvy directors take on his material, and director Scott Hicks (Oscar-nominated for 1997's Shine) does a decent job making The Lucky One pop with scenic illustrations.
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But unlike 2008's "The Lucky Ones," which realistically dealt with issues veterans face on the homefront, Hicks' pic seems to forget this incident as soon as it passes.
Keith looks and behaves like Biff from Back to the Future, so his threats are difficult to take seriously.
Or, if you will, imagine Biff from "Back to the Future" crashing a Pottery Barn catalog spread.