Reviews: Gob-smacking dental floss… Review: Good Luck Chuck

0 Comments | Evening Gazette (Middlesbrough, England), Nov 9, 2007

MARK Helfrich's misguided romantic comedy will need a lot more than good luck to compete with the hilarious Ratatouille - it will need a miracle.

Central to the film's numerous flaws are the two-dimensional characters who are either brash and unlikeable or so thinly sketched as to be almost translucent.

Cook, last seen as a murder-obsessed photographer in Mr Brooks, plays dentist Charlie Logan who gets a reputation as a lucky charm - any girl who sleeps with him will fall madly in love with the next man she meets. Soon women are queuing around the block to bed Charlie - who then falls for accident-prone Cam (Alba), who works at the local sealife centre.

There is no discernible sexual chemistry between the leads as Alba demonstrates an aptness for pratfalls and flashing her skimpy underwear.

Charlie's best friend, breast-obsessed plastic surgeon Stu (Fogler), is almost grotesque, leering over his topless clients and doling out Neanderthal advice.

Do yourself a favour and chuck Chuck.

STARRING: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler; DIRECTOR: Mark Helfrich; CERTIFICATE: 15; RUNNING TIME: 99mins; REVIEWER'S RATING: * 1/2

SHOWING: Cineworld, Showcase, Odeon, VUE; VERDICT: The film has neither the emotional warmth nor the charm to really engage with us, or to compel us to care about the intertwined fates of Charlie and Cam.