The Lucky Ones may be one of the most forgettable films I have ever seen. For the longest time I have tried reviewing this film but I never knew where to start. It wasn’t that I forgot what happened or what the film was about. As I think back I can almost remember each and every scene and how it played out, but there is nothing to grab hold of and run with when it comes to the story. Then I realized, that is the angle I should take. There is nothing specifically wrong with this film, but once it’s over you just don’t care and you are left to wonder why it was ever told in the first place.
Three soldiers on leave from Iraq (even though the marketers are quick to point out the word “Iraq” is never uttered) meet at an airport as all flights are delayed prompting a shared cross-country road trip. T.K. (Michael Pena) was hit by a piece of shrapnel and now he can’t get an erection, Colee (Rachel McAdams) was shot and is returning a guitar to the family of a fallen friend and Cheever (Tim Robbins) is returning home to his family as his time in the Army has come to an end.
T.K. is worried because he and his girlfriend will have nothing in common if they can’t have sex. Colee is naive and thinks everything is going to be just fine as she plans on showing up on the doorstep of strangers unannounced and hopes they will welcome her into their home as she has nowhere else to go. Cheever is about to find out his wife is less than excited to see him home and his son needs $20,000 to get into Stanford. It’s an unlikely group to be together and not a lot comes out of their interaction and the result of their meeting is far less than rewarding.
The story bounces along without disruption or distraction. Nothing is gained or lost by the time you get to the end of the film, at least from an audience perspective. Sure, the people in the film have endured something of a life altering trip and learned more about themselves, but if human nature has taught us anything Colee will go on being naive, T.K. will go on being self-destructive and Cheever… well, I don’t want to ruin the film for those that may end up seeing it so I will stop there.
Neil Burger (The Illusionist) co-wrote and directed the film and it doesn’t suffer from poor filmmaking, it suffers merely from disinterest and its ultimate anti-climactic ending. If there is such a thing as a “safe Iraq war film” this is it, but the subject matter doesn’t necessarily lend itself to coddling.
C-
