THE LUCKY ONE (M)
Where: General release
When: April 19
LOGAN Thibault is an American marine serving in Iraq. On the ground he finds a picture of a beautiful woman and a message on the back that says “keep safe”.
So, naturally, when Thibault (played by Zac Efron) returns home he goes in search of the needle-in-a-haystack woman he believes to be his lucky charm. Magically – and conveniently – he finds her within minutes.
The woman, Beth (Taylor Schilling), is a single mum who lives in a beautiful old home in North Carolina with her mother (Blythe Danner) and son. The family runs a dog kennel, where Logan accepts a job rather than just telling her why he’s there. Of course, the sexual tension is instant and electric.
Efron’s performance is compelling – but only because the child star has grown muscles and stubble. His acting is cringe-worthy, All-American jock style, but, thankfully, he has that lovely face to get him through the 101 minutes of formulaic sap.
The Lucky One’s plot comes with all the over-the-top love story essentials: man fixes broken tractor and boat, mentors the lonely single woman’s son, has to lift a lot of heavy things while wearing tight T-shirts; woman swoons. All these events culminate in a steamy shower scene.
But don’t get too excited, kids … Logan and Beth remain fully clothed during their moment of unbridled shower passion.
Clearly director Scott Hicks is aware that by casting Efron, the film must inevitably be placed in the parental guidance demographic. It’s written by Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook. It’s definitely no Notebook but there’s enough charming romance in there to flutter the hearts of teenage girls and hopeless romantics everywhere.
