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Movies / On DVD / The Lucky Ones
The Lucky Ones

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The Lucky Ones (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 67

Fresh: 23

Rotten:44

Average Rating: 4.9/10

Consensus: The Lucky Ones features heartfelt performances, but is undone by the plot's overwrought parade of coincidence and contrivance.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 30, 1999 Wide

Box Office: $183,088

Synopsis: Neil Burger's follow-up to his accomplished period piece, THE ILLUSIONIST, is an affecting naturalistic modern drama. THE LUCKY ONES concerns three Iraq War soldiers who have just returned to the... Neil Burger's follow-up to his accomplished period piece, THE ILLUSIONIST, is an affecting naturalistic modern drama. THE LUCKY ONES concerns three Iraq War soldiers who have just returned to the States: Fred Cheever (Tim Robbins) is out for good, and can't wait to reunite with his wife and son in St. Louis; T.K. Poole (Michael Pena) has suffered an embarrassing injury and is on his way to reconnecting with his fiancée before heading back overseas; and the also-injured Colee Dunn (Rachel McAdams) is on a mission to deliver a precious guitar to her deceased boyfriend's parents in Las Vegas. These strangers are brought together when JFK Airport is shut down indefinitely. Deciding that renting a car is a better option than twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the planes to fly, they hit the road on an eventful journey that will bring them closer together than they ever would have expected. THE LUCKY ONES is both an entertaining road movie and a poignant work of social commentary. Like real life, it's both comic and dramatic. Burger and co-screenwriter Dirk Wittenborn aren't out to make any brash statements for or against the war. They simply want to make viewers think about what it must feel like to return home after having fought overseas. Robbins, Pena, and McAdams are as good as they've ever been. It is their committed performances that gives dimension to these characters and makes THE LUCKY ONES resonate so deeply. [More]

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Pena, Molly Hagan, Mark L. Young, Howard Platt, Arden Myrin, Coburn Goss

Director: Neil Burger

Director: Neil Burger
Screenwriter: Neil Burger, Dirk Wittenborn
Producer: Neil Burger, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Rick Schwartz
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Jan 27, 2009

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Reviews for The Lucky Ones

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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If not for the warmth and likability of its characters and those playing them, The Lucky Ones would be a tiresome formula picture.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
03/18/09
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

It feels like the writers were trying for dialogue that sounded natural and improvisational. Instead, it feels scripted and rehearsed. It's all phony balony!

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
10/06/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

Ultimately I was left without any clear notion as to what was being said through the film and why.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
09/30/08
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

In this interview, The Lucky Ones director Neil Burger speaks about understanding the modern soldier, his surprising casting choice of anti-war activist Tim Robbins as a veteran and why he relates the story while the Iraq conflict continues.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
09/30/08
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

The Iraq war has thus far produced no truly memorable dramatic movies, as opposed to documentaries, and the losing streak continues with The Lucky Ones.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/29/08
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

The direction is functional, workmanlike; Burger never steals the spotlight from his characters.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
09/29/08
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

The biggest disappointment is in this script, written by Dirk Wittenborn and Neil Burger who gave us the delightful Illusionistin 2006.

Full Review Source: ReviewExpress.com | comment Comment
09/27/08
Diana Saenger
ReviewExpress.com

... reductive and unfunny ... think Coming Home crossed with Vegas Vacation minus Cousin Eddie ...

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
09/27/08
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

...benefits substantially from the strength and charisma of its three leads...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/27/08
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Rachel McAdams keeps reminding me how good she is in every role she takes. In this movie, she just glows energy. Acting is one thing. How do you project energy? Through joy, anger and curiosity, she projects this vibe and she is the backbone of the film.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/08
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

Based on the evidence here, director/co-writer Neil Burger may be the last American who's ambivalent about the Iraq War, and his movie suffers for it.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
09/26/08
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

While their circumstances may be forced, the three characters feel like real, complex, likable people. That's a real rarity in a film about veterans, no matter what the ideology is.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
09/26/08
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

This is not the worst of the Iraq-themed movies of the past few years, and it's possibly the best acted of any of them. But you wish the bonding of these three people wasn't diluted by the trite scenarios and artificial circumstances of their saga.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
09/26/08
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The dialogue is often sharp and funny and the performances nicely pitched.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/26/08
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

As they hit the road, the scenes play out like TV sitcom vignettes with little holding the centre together. We find out details about the characters lives, but never feel we know them.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
09/26/08
Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Each secret is more implausible than the last.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/26/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

McAdams and Peña are affectingly vulnerable, while Robbins convinces as a family man with strong paternal instincts.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/26/08
John Hartl
Seattle Times

The Lucky Ones has plenty of heart and courage. If it only had a brain ...

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/26/08
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In the end, they laugh together, they cry together and they all learn a little something about this place we call America. At least, that was probably the plan.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/26/08
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

Like its lead characters, Lucky is wounded, lost, and impractical, but it has a messy, winning humanity and an agreeably leisurely pace that almost redeems it.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/08
Nathan Rabin
AV Club
 
 
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