Movie Review: Just My Luck

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The acting, the ending

Cons: The humor

The Bottom Line:

Tries to be funny

But many jokes made me cringe

Okay, but not great

Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine Press Their Luck

Ashley Albright (Lindsay Lohan) has lived a charmed life. When she goes outside in the rain, the sun comes out. She just misses a crowded elevator and winds up alone with a very cute guy. And when she must substitute for her boss at a meeting, she gets a promotion out of the deal.

Jake Hardin (Chris Pine), on the other hand, could use a few good luck charms. He works at the Rock 'n Bowl, a bowling alley with live musical entertainment. He's found a great new group in McFly (playing themselves), but can't get their CD to an executive no matter what he tries.

Ashley has put together a masquerade ball as a promotion for record label Masquerade. Jake tries to crash the party to get McFly's CD to the label's executive just one more time. The two meet, and its love at first site. When they kiss, however, everything changes.

It starts with Ashley breaking the heel of her shoe. Things go downhill from there, and she's soon unemployed and living with her two friends. Jake, meanwhile, gets McFly signed to a record deal and finds himself living in a great, spacious apartment with a limo at his service.

Ashley hates her new life, and tries everything she can think of to get her luck back. Her path keeps crossing Jake's and the two begin to fall in love. What will happen when Ashley learns the truth?

Yeah, I'll admit it. I was a Lindsay Lohan fan when this movie came out. That coupled with some very funny previews made me want to see this movie. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to its potential.

Obviously with a movie like this, the story is fairly predictable. It falls on the humor and the actors to make the journey to the end well worth watching. The actors do a great job with their material. You can't help but root for Ashley and Jake to find some way to deal with whatever it is they are currently facing. And, of course, you're rooting for them to get together.

Unfortunately, the humor fell flat. While I don't mind slapstick, I don't enjoy humor where the person is in pain or is constantly making a fool out of themselves. The humor in this movie fell almost entirely into those categories. Instead of laughing, I spend most of the movie cringing, waiting for the joke to come.

The ending works well, however. It was very sweet and redeems much of the earlier parts of the film.

The musical group featured in the film, McFly, is a real band. They've just released a CD entitled (surprise, surprise) Just My Luck.

The movie's ok, and the friend I went to see it with loved it. I just couldn't stop cringing enough to fully enjoy Just My Luck. Three and a half stars rounded down.