The Lucky One (2012) * *

Directed by:  Scott Hicks


Starring:  Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Jay R. Ferguson, Blythe Danner

At least three times in The Lucky One, Logan (Efron) solemnly declares to his new lover Beth (Schilling), "I have something I have to tell you," and after a well-timed interruption, Beth says, "It's ok, you can tell me later."    This only works in movies.    In real life, Beth would've been too curious to continue on with her day until she hears Logan out.     I know I would have.    It's not every day somebody is so intent on telling me Something Important.  

But, alas, so goes The Lucky One, in which Logan is unable to tell Beth his Big Secret.    It's maddening.     The secret itself isn't really much of one anyway.    I can't imagine why Beth would be upset with him over it, except that in movies like this, new couples are artificially kept apart before making up at the end.     The Lucky One covers everything on the romance checklist and does so in pedestrian fashion.  

The Lucky One begins during the Iraq War (or is it Afghanistan?).    Logan Thibault (Efron) is a soldier who during a battle notices a photo of a pretty girl lying on the ground.     As he picks it up, he avoids getting hit by gunfire.     He believes the photo to be a good luck charm and wears it under his helmet.     He credits the photo with saving his life on more than one occasion.     After his third tour ends, he decides to set out and find the identity of the woman in the photo.     He has no leads to go on and doesn't even know for sure she is even American.    That doesn't stop Logan, who is able to discover the woman's identity after a few Google searches.     She is Beth, who runs a pet boarding kennel in Louisiana.    Logan walks there from Colorado with his dog (I'll assume he hitchhiked some) and meets Beth.     He attempts to tell her why he's there and she mistakes him for a job applicant.     This is the first occasion where he tries to tell Beth "The Truth". 

She hires him, mostly because he's hunky and earnest.    Beth's grandmother (Danner) eyes up the two and sees There Are Meant For Each Other, which of course doesn't occur to Beth and Logan until much, much later.      Complicating matters is Beth's ex-husband, Keith (Ferguson), who shares custody of her son and is a creep from minute one.     He's a deputy sheriff with family political connections and a drinking problem.     He intimidates Beth and confronts Logan every time they meet.     It's almost unintentionally funny when Logan tells Keith, "You're a good guy, you know," during one of the umpteen staredowns between the two.     On what is this based?     We find out later when both men team up to find Beth's runaway son that Keith may not be Such A Bad Guy After All.
Seems like a screenplay swerve to me.

Beth and Logan fall in love (albeit despite their individual appeal they have little chemistry) and break up briefly after Logan reveals to her that his chance meeting with her wasn't exactly chance.     There's also business involving Beth's brother who served in Iraq as well and was killed in action.   
Efron and Schilling are appealing leads.    Efron effectively dials down and Schilling is a fresh, pretty face.     But The Lucky One ultimately puts them in a predictable story bordering on what Roger Ebert called The Idiot Plot.    This means the plot and any misunderstandings would be wrapped up quickly if one or more of the characters would say the right thing.    

Another side plot was Logan's apparent shell shock, which manifests itself early in the film when he comes home.    He jumps when he hears gunfire on a video game and nearly strangles his nephew while playing with him.     This is never referred to again once he hits Louisiana.    Maybe the movie just wanted Keith to have all of the bad attributes.