Good Luck Chuck (2007) Lions Gate Films
1 hr. 36 mins.
Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Lonny Ross, Ellia English, Annie Wood, Steve Bacic, Chelan Simmons, Jodie Stewart
Directed by: Mark Helfrich
This film is rated: R

Rating: * ½ stars (out of 4 stars)

Are we ready for another corrosive if not clueless comedy that thinks its fetishism for female flesh and wacky entanglements is as cute as falsely advertised? Well, director Mark Helfrich thinks so in the fetid romantic comedy Good Luck Chuck. Needlessly insipid in its tiresome premise about a bed-hopping pretty boy that acts as an unconventional good luck piece to desperate females wanting a solid commitment, Chuck makes one want to upchuck. Sorry, that line will probably be used in countless other critiques but hey...let's call 'em as we obviously see 'em, okay?

Naturally, the attractiveness and bubbly spirit of the movie's two leads Dane Cook and Jessica Alba will certainly be pleasing to the moviegoers' eyes but beyond this gimmicky Chuck will need all the good luck that this fleeting farce can muster up. This is the same tired and tepid formula that inflicts these nonsensical romancing romps where perverse platitudes try to compensate for a sketchy, transparent laugher about unexpected love/lust and the nutty protagonists that jump through the hoops to achieve this snickering stunt. Clearly, Good Luck Chuck is another faceless funnybone flick that caters to generic and juvenile jokes while stumbling at its smart-aleck sentimentality.

Helfrich and screenwriter Josh Stolberg do have a witty premise about possessing the clumsy magic to the elusive conditions known as attraction and a loving commitment. However, the conventional flippancy of the spotty script and mechanical direction beats the welcoming preposterousness of Good Luck Chuck to an exasperating pulp. The intention is to be playful and push the envelope in the style of high-minded cheap comedy that Helfrich and his performers want to convey. Unfortunately, Chuck's suggestive gags and perfunctory gumption for sophomoric ribaldry only generates convenient memories of other borrowed flagrant fare such as There's Something About Mary and the American Pie flicks.

Charles "Chuck" Logan (Cook) is a dentist with an unusual talent--his one-night stands with countless women are actually considered productive as his brief curvaceous conquests find ultimate success in marrying the next man they become intimate with on the spot. So ladies...it's a good thing if you can convince Chuck to play footsies with you as you are guaranteed an immediate whimsical encounter with Mr. Right at the altar!

The backstory to Chuck's amazing gift for his women's "sleep-and-seek a marrying man" routine may have originated from his childhood when the then 10-year-old was hexed during a Spin-the-Bottle game after refusing to touch lips with a Goth girl as she had an ax to grind. Well, Chuck may be paying for his defiance so many years later. What is it about Chuck that he has to be the symbol for others benefiting from his carnal-induced curse?

Enter the lovely and vivacious Cam (Alba). She's definite eye candy as a "penguin specialist" that is also prone to tripping over her own feet in klutzy fashion. Chuck feels liberated by the immensely pretty penguin purist and has intense sexual feelings for this clumsy cutie. Still, his doom for women that discover matrimony elsewhere may also apply to the fetching Cam. Can Chuck somehow overcome his stigma of possibly chasing away Cam based of his previous experiences with women that have gone on to bigger and better things with their dreamy soulmates? Who will end up feeling more frustrated and frigid--Chuck if he can't stabilize Cam's affections or the penguins that are in Cam's botched care?

As with most careless comedies, Good Luck Chuck raises more dumb questions than it cares to answer with logic and common sense. Both Cook's Chuck and Alba's Cam are good-looking tools and one appreciates the fact that these "pretty people" have their share of mishaps for the sake of the twisted comedy. However, the filmmakers never take the time to explore Chuck's romantic misfortune or explain why Cam's accident-prone tendencies and love for penguins is vital to her specialized existence. Naturally, Chuck wants to be goofy-minded for the empty convenience of the manufactured mockery.

Cook, last seen making silly straw with Jessica Simpson in the forgettable Employee of the Month as well as Mr. Brooks, is charismatic when given a vehicle that can capitalize on his cheeky charm. Cook is considered one of the thriving stand-up comedians working today and has a devoted following thanks to his ubiquitous comedy appearances nationwide. It is a mystery as to why Cook's comedy craftiness from the stage doesn't hold up in the mediocre movies that have featured his presence thus far. See Cook's Chuck do some off-the-wall raunchy things. So what? He's asked to do some outrageous bits but there's no particular payoff behind his screwy schtick.

Cook and Alba are exceptionally picturesque together and do make for a kooky couple. As for Alba, her pratfalls and other physical pimping feels strained and broad. It's as if the handlers didn't trust Alba's sense of comedic timing and that she needed to hide behind the antics of tripping over her invisible strings. Alba cannot be blamed here--she's relatively new to the comedy scene after being featured in such heavy-duty special effects popcorn flicks as The Fantastic Four movie series and Sin City and its yet-to-be-released sequel.

The supporting cast more often than not is on the hilarious mark than the film's stars Cook and Alba. Among those that are considered bright spots is Dan Fogler as Chuck's bouncing breast-loving buddy. Lonny Ross gains a few chuckles as Cam's weed-loving brother with a hazy imagination. As for the film's overall tone, it can be mean-spirited at times (witness the instances where an overweight woman dares to deflower the handsome huckster Cook/Chuck). Plus, the film relies on its ability to get frisky with all the bare-skin babes that Chuck freely has at his disposal. Look, there's nothing wrong with seeing all that fanciful fresh for that testosterone-driven hormonal urge but come on now...even the props of showcasing naked nimphos can get tedious after awhile.

In short, if it weren't for bad Luck then the chump Chuck wouldn't have any cinematic luck at all.


Frank Ochieng
@ World Voice News (2007)