News Taffy

I’ve probably said this before, but there is nothing I love more than a good love story. Forrest and Jenny in Forrest Gump, Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner in The Way We Were and Oliver Barrett and Jennifer Cavilleri in the brain child of all romances, Love Story, and of course every couple in every Nicolas Sparks book makes you think of love. The theme of love has spawned thousands of books and countless movies, but Mr. Sparks seems to be the current master of the modern romance genre, delivering several books like The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, Message in a Bottle, Nights in Rodanthe (these are only a few of his works) and Dear John. When Hollywood discovered that turning his bestselling novels into movies might bring in the big bucks they went on to crank out seven films, the latest one being The Lucky One.

In The Lucky One, U.S. Marine Logan Thibault (Zach Efron) has just returned home from his third tour of duty with one mission in mind—to find his good luck charm. One day, after a night raid in Iraq, Logan sees the reflection of something in the dirt and discovers that it is a picture of a girl with the words keep safe on the back. He tries to find out who the picture belongs to, but comes up empty so he keeps it with him. While in Iraq he is able to survive when others don’t and his friend Victor tells him it’s because of the picture. He tracks down the mystery girl’s location to a town in Hampton, Louisiana and walks from Colorado to meet her. He finds out that her name is Beth (Taylor Schilling) and upon arriving to the dog kennel where she works, he is prepared to tell her about everything, but as these movies usually go, circumstances prevent him from telling her right away.

Beth is convinced he must be crazy if he would walk from Colorado for apparently no reason and tries to blow him off, but thanks to a little help from her witty grandmother (Blythe Danner), who gives Logan the job, he isn’t going anywhere. Beth tries to keep her distance, but Logan seems to be everywhere and soon develops a bond with her son Ben. Logan’s constant presence is also an annoyance to Beth’s ex-husband Keith, a cop with political connections, who scores a solid 10 on the jerk-o-meter.

One day, Logan finds Beth crying and going crazy on some potted plants and comes to comfort her. She tells him that it is the anniversary of her brother’s death, who was also a marine, and reflects on their time together as children. Eventually Logan does win Beth over (Have you seen Zack Efron in the movie trailer? Who wouldn’t give in to all of that?), and they start dating, stealing kisses and making goo goo eyes at each other. Keith doesn’t like it and he’s determined to stop it, but Keith is also an egotistical idiot, so if you have any knowledge of such characters you can probably guess how his plans to stop their relationship end up. But soon all secrets will be revealed and when the storm comes, so does tragedy.

So there you have it, folks; romance at its finest. What do you suppose I should give a movie like this? Well. I’ve settled on a seven out of ten. This movie uses themes that have been around forever (war, make out scenes in a downpour, in this case an outdoor shower, tragedy, beautiful old houses and a little comedy) so you don’t really get anything new, but it was pretty well done, especially when I compare this to another Sparks book turned movie The Last Song, starring Miley Cyrus, when I wanted her to just shut up, go dig a hole and jump in it.

I don’t have any negatives, but I don’t have any over-the top praises either. My friend Jen and I left the movie having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and wondering where all the Zach Efron look-a-likes are (at least I was thinking that), so it was well worth it. The Lucky One was a classic Nicholas Sparks tale with all the drama and passion befitting the romance genre. Well done! It’s still not as good as the Notebook, which was the first movie to make me cry, but still well done.

Next week, I will take in the romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement starring Emily Blunt and Jason Siegel. I expect lots of laughter and giggles.

Until next time,
Raven