Blu-ray Review: Awful ‘The Lucky One’ Makes Other Romantic Melodrama Look Better

CHICAGO – The Blu-ray of Scott Hicks’ horrendous “The Lucky One” includes special features called “Zac Efron Becomes a Marine,” “Watch the Sparks Fly - The Romantic World of The Lucky One,” and “Zac and Taylor’s Amazing Chemistry.” This is false advertising. Because it implies that Mr. Efron believably becomes a Marine, the film is even slightly romantic, or that its two stars have an ounce of chemistry. This is the bottom of the Nicholas Sparks barrel, an inert romantic drama that fails on every level.

Rating: 1.0/5.0

In some ways, “The Lucky One” is like a greatest hits of Sparks cliches but that might make it sound more fun than it actually is in the end. It’s just so deadly dull, in no small part because Efron, who I’ve defended and liked before, is simply awful here. I don’t think it’s completely his fault but he’s tragically miscast as a PTSD-suffering Marine seeking solace from his own demons in the arms of a woman he believes served as a guardian angel in country. Efron is not only not believable in the part but he looks bored. His monotonous delivery may have been chosen to make the characters seem strong but he just seems sleepy.

And nothing around him is going to wake him up. Taylor Schilling was an interesting leading lady on NBC’s short-lived “Mercy” but she has zero chemistry with Efron and isn’t an engaging lead. And the story of “The Lucky One,” which turns ex-husbands and Southern locals into caricatures, is hilariously hackneyed. At one point, Sparks and Hicks lose all sense of logic as they try to break their couple apart with the threat of her losing her son. Why? Because she’s dating a drifter Marine. This is just silly. And not in a fun way. And don’t get me started on the melodramatic climax which produced more laughs in theaters than emotion. If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to see it.

The Lucky One was released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 28, 2012
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner star in this powerful and romantic journey based on the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks. After three tours of duty in Iraq, U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) travels to North Carolina to search for the unknown woman whose photo he believes was his good-luck charm during the war. Stirring, heartfelt and deeply moving, it’s the acclaimed movie that critics are calling “the best Nicholas Sparks film since The Notebook.” Mark S. Allen, CBS-TV

Click here to buy “The Lucky One”

Special Features:
o Zac Efron Becomes a Marine
o Watch the Sparks Fly - The Romantic World of The Lucky One
o Zac and Taylor’s Amazing Chemistry
o DVD Version
o Ultraviolet Copy

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com