The Lucky One by John J. Pucio
Paragraph 1: If you've ever read a book by Nicholas Sparks or seen a movie adaptation of any of his works, you know the formula. Sparks is a romance writer who struck it big in the literary world with "The Notebook" and followed it up with over a dozen more romantic novels with the same basic outline. On film, Hollywood has adapted for the screen not only "The Notebook" (2004) but "Message in a Bottle" (1999), "A Walk to Remember" (2002), "Nights in Rodanthe" (2008), "Dear John" (2010), "The Last Song" (2010), and the subject of our review today, "The Lucky One" (2012).
The writer begins by identifying the genre of the movie and by saying how this movie is basically the same as any other book Nicholas Sparks has written. He goes on and assumes that the reader is not too familiar with Nicholas Sparks, and gives a bit of information on the books he has written, along with which books of Sparks' have been made into movies and even gives the year released.
Paragraph 2: The "lucky one" of the movie's title would appear to be one or more of the actors, actresses, and filmmakers who made the movie and were paid up-front for their services, not anyone in a home or theater audience. The movie follows the Sparks formula so precisely, you could write out every detail of the plot just from watching the trailer.
In this paragraph he takes the movie title and uses it to describe ONLY the people who got paid to work on or in the movie, and leaves to say that the audience who watched it were not so lucky. He also says that the film is such a "cookie-cutter" Sparks novel that just by a preview the audience would be able to know every detail of the movie's plot.
Paragraph 3: In this one, Zac Efron plays a Marine. OK, right there you get a bit of a stretch. I keep seeing him in all those "High School Musical" pictures. When we meet him, his character, Logan, is in his third tour of duty in Iraq when during an engagement he finds a photograph on the ground, a photograph of a beautiful young woman he's never seen before. What are the odds? Moments later, an explosion almost kills him, but doesn't. He credits the photograph for saving his life and carries it with him through several additional close calls, thinking of it as a lucky token.
Here he begins a discussion of Zac Efron. Assuming the reader knows who Zac Efron is and the role he has played in his previous movies. He then goes on to give some background and a little bit of the big picture in this plot.
Paragraph 4:When his service is up and he returns to the States, he becomes obsessed with finding the woman in the picture. He wants to thank her for saving his life. Apparently, he is traumatized by war and needs to find himself by finding the woman. Or some such thing. But he has no idea who she is or where she lives, and he has no way to locate her except possibly by identifying a lighthouse in the photo. Thus does he set off on foot from his home in Colorado to find her...in Louisiana. On foot. With his dog. He says he likes to walk. What are the odds?
Here more of the plot is given to the reader.
Paragraph 5: And what do you mean, Does he find her? He locates her in the first few minutes of the story. This is romantic fiction, after all; or more like romantic fantasy. Questions: Would he have tried tracking her down so intently if she wasn't so pretty? Does he have all the money in the world to traipse across the country with no visible means of support? What does he expect to do when he does find her, beyond saying "Thanks"? Could he find her any more quickly, one unfamiliar face among three-hundred-million faces in the U.S.? When he does find her, could she be any prettier? Could she live in a more picture-perfect house in a more idyllic rural setting? What are the odds?
He keeps giving more of the plot. He mentions the genre again and even calls it "...romantic fantasy." He starts questioning a big part of the story, and at this point he just keeps emphasizing that this movie is your typical romantic film.
Paragraph 6: Quick edits, shaky cams, extreme close-ups, slow-motion, filtered lighting, and long, lingering pans of the countryside abound. Director Scott Hicks ("Shine," "Snow Falling on Cedars," "Hearts in Atlantis," "No Reservations") uses the full bag of tricks.
The director/ direction of the film is mentioned, but not in too good of a way. Mentioned, is all the bad moves the director took with the film "Quick edits, shaky cams..." just to name a few. Next to be mentioned is the direcetor which he then names a few of the other films that Scott Hicks has done.
Paragraph 7 & 8: When Logan finds the dream girl of his photograph, Beth (Taylor Schilling), she's not only pretty, she's about Logan's age, and she's single. Moreover, you remember Logan's dog? Beth runs a kennel for dogs. What are the odds?
Logan introduces himself to Beth but can't bring himself to tell her that he has been stalking her ever since leaving the service. Why? Because otherwise we wouldn't have a plot. Instead, he takes a job at the kennels and rents a little house nearby.
In these paragraphs there is a big plot summary given here. There is also some more mention of not such a good movie plot. He then finishes the 8th paragraph by revealing Efron's next move.
Paragraph 9: However, this is a Nicholas Sparks story, not a fairy tale, so the characters need to have a slew of additional obstacles to overcome before they can fall in love and possibly live happily ever after. In this case, Beth lives with her grandmother, Ellie (Blythe Danner), and Beth's eight-year-old son, Ben (Riley Thomas Stewart). Why do all child actors these days have three names? Worse, Beth's jealous ex-husband, Keith (Jay R. Ferguson), a Neanderthal county sheriff, hangs around bullying her. Kind of a serious impediment to any new relationship, you know? And have I mentioned death? Sure, this is a Nicholas Sparks story. You can't get by without somebody dying. What are the odds?
There is slightly some comparison in this paragraph. There is mention of the main characters and who they are in the movie. He then refers to all the new child actors and their long names. Continuing with the fact that its a Nicholas Sparks story and its always the same, he mentions that there is death in this plot. Like always.
Paragraph 10: Well, you get the idea. Blythe Danner is the only actor in the movie who is halfway appealing or even persuasive in her role. The two leads develop virtually no chemistry. Mark Isham's drippy background music surges behind every melodramatic plot point, which seems like about every two minutes. When the music isn't surging, it's just lingering innocuously in the shadows. Cue the radiant sunsets and cotton-candy clouds
There is a discussion of performances here. Letting the reader know that not even the two leads convicing. He goes on to explain how the music in the film is basically unnecessarily placed into the film, though it really does not fit in. Then after that comes always a happy ending to the scene.
Paragraph 11: "The Lucky One" hasn't a compelling character or a solid lead in sight. Every scene, every action, every shot is calculated to elicit a tear. It's like reading an endless series of Hallmark cards, and it moves at the speed of Southern molasses on a winter day. Except that in this movie it's almost always a bright, sunny day. Almost. When the plot thickens and things look most dire, a storm breaks out. What are the odds?
Longest movie I ever sat through.
Here is another discussion of character. Also he proceeds with a discussion of director. It references Hallmark, giving the simile that "It's like reading an endless series of Hallmark cards". Another object it references, in comparison to the speed of the film, "...Southern molasses on a winter day." He goes on to keep emphasizing his point of this movie being very predictable.
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