“Just My Luck” (20th Century Fox)
Lohan’s Luck Just Ran Out
Lindsay Lohan burst on to the Hollywood scene in the delightful Disney remake of “The Parent Trap.” She followed that one with the equally charming remake of “Freaky Friday.” She made a few more well received movies and then she starred in the remake of “Herbie” and was once again an audience favorite. Now she has made her first grown up film, “Just My Luck,” and it looks like Lohan’s hold on the favor of the American public has ended. The movie and Lohan are just plain awful!
Lohan plays Ashley Albright, a bright young girl living and working in the big city. Ashley has luck like you wouldn’t believe. Everything good happens to her and for her. Her boss (Missi Pyle) loves her and gives her a huge promotion. Plus she meets a new guy (Chris Carmack) who is handsome and rich, and he is bowled over by her. Yes, her world could not be better.
Then at a masquerade ball she kisses a stranger, Jake Hardin (Chris Pine). Jake is the antithesis of Ashley. His luck is all bad, and when they kiss he takes her good luck away from her. Now she has to find him and get it back. That’s the plot folks. That’s it, there ain’t no more.
The film goes downhill from this point and takes forever and a day to get to the end when Ashley and Jake kiss again. By this time the audience is feeling pretty unlucky for ever having bought a ticket to this mess. It is all poorly acted and poorly conceived.
Lohan is the star and the responsibility for the movie being enjoyable or not pretty much rests with her. She doesn’t look good in the movie and her acting is sporadic to say the least. She never seems to really know much about her character and her chemistry with Pine is zero, but that fault has to be shared with him.
Pine is okay when playing the doofus role but doesn’t lend much credence when he becomes the lucky one. His on screen personality gets weaker and weaker as the movie progresses. Maybe in the hands of a more talented actor this role could have been fun, and maybe it could even have made Lohan look a little better. As is, the film has two loser actors at the top and it trickles down to infect the rest of the cast.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and some bathroom humor.
Lindsay Lohan has become one of the most overexposed celebrities in Hollywood today, second only to Tom Cruise. She had better learn to act, and quickly, otherwise I see her becoming tomorrow’s Tara Reid.
I scored “Just My Luck” a bad luck 3 out of 10.
