Review No.168: The Lucky One

To me Nicholas Sparks adaptations appeal to a certain demographic to which I'm not a part though The Notebook was a massive crossover hit, and featured the mighty Ryan Gosling, I've only caught parts of it though since then I've had the misfortune to watch both the dreary Dear John and The Last Song which starred the dreaded Miley Cyrus. So imagine my surprise when I actually sort of enjoyed the latest Sparks adaptation The Lucky One which starred Zac Efron as former marine Logan whose life is saved twice by the picture of an unknown blonde meaning that when he is shipped back to the States he makes it his mission to track her down and walks all the way from Colorado to Louisiana to do this accompanied only by his loyal German Shepherd dog Zeus. After a small search he tracks down Beth who runs a local kennel and whose brother Drake was in the same company as Logan however when she mistakes him for someone who wanted to apply for a job at the kennels he neglects to tell her why he's really there. Inevitably the two get close quite quickly with Logan striking up a bond with Beth's son Ben who he encourages to play the violin however this raises the ire of Ben's father Keith who is the town's local sheriff so attempts to make life hard for his new love rival. Keith eventually gets one up on Logan when he discovers that he was searching for Beth when he first came to town which in turn means that he has to confess all. As is always the way with Sparks' books this isn't the end of their story as a tragedy forces old grudges to be put on hold as torrential weather causes our characters' lives to change forever.

Let's get one thing clear right from the start The Lucky One is completely cheesy romantic tripe that I wouldn't normally like however there was a charm to the story and a believable chemistry between Efron and female lead Taylor Schilling that made the film a lot easier to watch. I think in the past the Sparks adaptations suffered from a lack of chemistry between the leads and a story that I struggled to connect with however director Scott Hicks kept things simple enough as this was just a story of two lost people coming together. Though some snootier critics may steer away from praising him here I felt that Efron gave one of his best performances to date as he has made the effort to actually get in shape and be somewhat believable as someone who is deeply troubled from what he's seen during the war though I did find his early night terrors fairly laughable. Though Efron has no problem with the romantic scenes he still needs some work on the more dramatic side of things with the big rain-soaked tragedy at the end seeing him going slightly over-the-top. Schilling is also believable as a woman who has left her life behind her to hide in the kennels following the death of her brother and the breakdown in the relationship between her and the father of her son there is also reliable support from Blythe Danner as Beth's grandmother. Some of the performances are a bit iffy with Jay R Ferguson's Keith being a bit too much of a clichéd villain and Riley Thomas Stewart being a little too annoying as Ben. Hicks, who directed the Oscar-winning Shine, has always been able to capture great visuals and he does this again with The Lucky One with Alar Kivilo's cinematography adding to the overall feel of this syrupy love story. So though The Lucky One may purport the myth that the best kind of man is the one that can look after a boat and has a loveable dog it is still an easy film to watch with a couple of believable romantic leads and lots of well-shot scenic locations.

Verdict: While it's not my usual cup of tea The Lucky One survives thanks to the chemistry between Efron and Schilling and the ability of director Hicks to create a believable love story so for those reasons it receives 6/10