Just My Luck
starring Lyndsay Lohan, Chris Pine, Faizon Love, Missi Pyle, Bree Turner, Samaire Armstrong, Makenzie Vega and McFly
screenplay by I. Marlene King and Amy B. Harris
directed by Donald Petrie
Called “Lucky Girl” in Japan, this is a romantic comedy about a woman (Ashley, played by Lyndsay Lohan) whose life is filled with amazing luck who then accidentally loses this gift of great luck to a man (Jake, played by Chris Pine) whose life is the complete opposite, characterized by unceasing bad luck. Ashley loses her luck through a kiss at a party, and when she realizes what has happened to her she goes around kissing a lot of men, trying to find the one.
When Jake’s life turns lucky, it spills over onto those around him, including the British rock band that he manages, McFly. As a consequence, they succeed in land the recording contract they have been dreaming about. I don’t have a clue what McFly has to do with the story. The same story could be told any number of ways without a band, let alone a British one. But maybe director Donald Petrie chose a young band to synchronize with the young demographic of the film’s audience. This movie is dominated by a lot of young talent, but that still doesn’t explain why there is
a young British band.
This is an important movie for Lyndsay Lohan because it signals her transition from teenage movie star to adult movie star. Her days of playing teenage high school girls are over. Making this transition successfully is important, because it determines if she will make a career as an actress. Many child stars do not make it (The Brady Bunch kids, The Partridge Family kids, and that boy from the 1990 box office Christmas hit, Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin.)
It’s an okay film. I don’t like Chris Pine, but I like Lyndsay Lohan, and I have watched many of her movies: The Parent Trap (a remake - I liked the original better); Freaky Friday;Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen;Mean Girls; Herbie Fully Loaded.
The role played by McFly is structurally identical to that played by The Beatles in their 1964 debut film, A Hard Days Night. Except that whereas The Beatles were the stars of that movie, McFly are not the stars of this one. They are just an interesting aside. But when I say that their roles are structurally the same I mean that the film climaxes in the bands’ concerts; the concerts are threatened with delay because the drummers go missing; then the shows go ahead when the drummers reappear in the nick of time; and, it is the drummers who are the best actors and the ones who carry the comedy. McFly’s Harry Judd is Ringo Starr.
McFly are Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter.