DOWN-ON-HER-`LUCK' LOHAN SHINES.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Shrewdly designed to nudge Lindsay Lohan's tween tween n. A child between middle childhood and adolesence, usually between 8 and 12 years old. [Blend of teen1 and between.] fan base into accepting inevitable adulthood, ``Just My Luck'' plays like the fantasy-comedies our favorite redhead made as a kid. Only dumber. And not as good at exploiting its premise. And just playing grown-up grown-up adj. 1. Of, characteristic of, or intended for adults: grown-up movies; a grown-up discussion. 2. , really, but not so much that anyone will be convinced. Still, it's a great showcase for the always-watchable Lohan, who gets to both glam up and make like a total doofus doo·fus n. pl. doo·fus·es Slang An incompetent, foolish, or stupid person. [Perhaps blend of doof, fool (from Scots) and goofus, fool (from goof). to her heart's content. Those of us who believe that her acting talent is miles out in front of other teen starlets' can also glean a little pleasure from this. Concocted by a phalanx phalanx, ancient Greek formation of infantry. The soldiers were arrayed in rows (8 or 16), with arms at the ready, making a solid block that could sweep bristling through the more dispersed ranks of the enemy. of writers whose credits range from ``Sex and the City'' to ``Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17 1963 in Pawnee City, Nebraska), better known by the stage name Larry the Cable Guy, is a stand up comedian, actor, and one of the co-stars of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and the subsequent series Blue Collar TV. : Health Inspector,'' ``Luck'' proposes that Lohan's Ashley Albright is indeed the luckiest young career gal in New York. Her taxis avoid traffic, her elevator choices leave her alone with cute, rich guys in need of dates, that kind of thing. And when the boss at her PR firm gets stuck in another elevator, Ashley saves a crucial meeting with Masquerade Records mogul Damon Phillips (a funny Faizon Love) by suggesting -- get this -- a masquerade-theme promotional ball. This super-brilliant brainstorm earns Ashley a promotion and many other good things. Could life possibly get any better? Uh, no. Said shindig shin·dig n. 1. A festive party, often with dancing. Also called shindy. 2. See shindy. [Probably alteration of shindy. is crashed by perpetual loser Jake Hardin (``Princess Diaries 2's'' Chris Pine), who's desperate to get a demo of the boy band he tries to manage, McFly (played by British boy band McFly), to Phillips. The masked Jake ends up kissing Ashley and promptly bags the sweetest recording deal on Earth. Meanwhile, Ashley loses her job, apartment and spotless arrest record in quick succession. Then things really get bad. Maybe I'm a terrible person, but I enjoyed Ashley's slapstick humiliations far more than her dream-girl swanning. Maybe that's because Lohan does wits'-end humor with a certain winning stoicism Stoicism (stō`ĭsĭzəm), school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium (in Cyprus) c.300 B.C. The first Stoics were so called because they met in the Stoa Poecile [Gr. (or maybe it's that her bad-luck schtick schtick n. Variant of shtick. Noun 1. schtick - (Yiddish) a little; a piece; "give him a shtik cake"; "he's a shtik crazy"; "he played a shtik Beethoven" schtik, shtick, shtik is better conceived than Pine's). Perhaps it just evokes fond memories of Lucy when this particular raven-tressed klutz wrestles with the floor-polisher or puts too much soap in the washing machine. If Lohan's upcoming forays into indie films don't earn the respect she deserves, there's always the possibility of an ``I Love Lindsay'' series to fall back on. Lots of Ashley's problems are her own dumb fault, though. Maybe we can let that pass as golden-girl naivete na·ive·té or na·ïve·té n. 1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical. 2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act. , but a more clever script wouldn't have needed to make her look so stupid. It also might have made rougher, stronger romantic comic hay out of the relationship problem. When Ashley finally realizes that kissing this nice guy she's falling for is the only way to get her luck back, but that it means returning his bad karma to him, it just becomes one of those bland rom-com secrets that delays the couple's inevitable happiness. Wouldn't it have been better if Ashley spilled the beans to Jake a little earlier, and some understandable selfishness came between the pair? But then, that might have been too much for the pubescent pubescent /pu·bes·cent/ (pu-bes´int) 1. arriving at the age of puberty. 2. covered with down or lanugo. pu·bes·cent adj. 1. target audience to handle. ``Luck'' is directed by Donald Petrie. He doesn't make good movies, but his resume is padded with profitable chick flicks: ``Mystic Pizza,'' ``Miss Congeniality,'' ``How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.'' Guess he knows what he's doing. But good as Lohan is, she's better with interesting material. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com JUST MY LUCK - Two and one half stars (PG-13: sexuality, language, mild violence) Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine, Samaire Armstrong, Bree Turner. Director: Donald Petrie. Running time: 1 hr. 43 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: OK, but just OK, comedy-fantasy in which bad and good luck are switched through a kiss between Lohan and Pine. Slick and superficial, but Lohan once again proves to be a highly watchable watch·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being watched; viewable: watchable wildlife. 2. Good enough to watch: "The fastest modem ... , versatile actress. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) dances with Jake (Chris Pine) shortly before her streak runs out in the comedy ``Just My Luck.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion