Just My Luck – Film Review

Released in 2006, Just My Luck brings rom-com regular, Lindsay Lohan, to the spotlight, but even her onscreen charisma fails to salvage this abysmal and predictable fairy tale.

Lohan portrays the role of Ashley Albright, an inveterately lucky Manhattan public relations executive. Ashley lives an enchanting life – umbrellas magically appear during the sudden rainstorm, cabs always appear when she needs one, and her shoes never ever touch the city’s trash-laden streets. At her apex of fortuity, she fortuitously lands a lucrative party planning deal involving a down-on-their-luck band, McFly. Things take a twist when she accidentally swaps her perpetual good luck with Jake (Chris Pine), a beleaguered yet handsome janitor-cum-band manager, in an impulsive kiss.

Just My Luck is an attempt at revamping the familiar ‘switcheroo’ trope into a fresh plotline, but sadly it stumbles right from the beginning. Director Donald Petrie, known for other rom-com gems like Miss Congeniality and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, is unremarkable in handling this fantasy-fluff theme. It’s evident that the film strives for charm and humor through its bizarre premise, yet the jokes fail to elicit laughs, landing somewhere between wearisome and trying-too-hard.

Furthermore, the premise of luck-exchanging with a kiss feels implausibly forced, further straining the already thin storyline. The script could’ve done better with an exploration of this unique premise. Yet it resorts to predictable developments that seem telegraphed from miles away. Our protagonist, once she has swapped luck, slips, slides, trips, stumbles into every kind of disaster you can imagine, invoking a relentless sense of schadenfreude.

On a performance level, Lohan puts in commendable effort as Ashley but she cannot outrun the badly fleshed out character she is assigned to. Chris Pine, in an early role, offers a mix of befuddled and opportunistic with aplomb, providing a silver lining to this otherwise lackluster narrative. But the poor script cannot be fully salvaged by even these charismatic leads.

Visually, the cinematography doesn’t offer anything particularly memorable or innovative. Each scene feels hastily strung together without an inherent thought for an engaging visual narrative. This mechanical and shallow treatment of the movie is also reflected in the musical choices which come across as overly simplistic, even to a pop enthusiast. In short, there’s nothing memorable about the music, a crushing shortcoming for a film that has a subplot revolving around a rock band.

An equally questionable aspect is the romantic angle, where there is barely any chemistry to witness between Ashley and Jake. Despite the undeniable talent and good looks of Lohan and Pine, the rushed love-story feels insubstantial and unearned, leaving the viewer apathetic about the fate of the duo.

Additionally, the film lacks significant depth in dealing with the notion of luck itself. It’s oversimplified to a fault, manifesting merely in slapstick mishaps or material gain, while failing to consider its complex implications in everyday life, thereby reducing a philosophical concept to superficial pratfalls and luck-brags.

Just My Luck seems designed to pass as a teen flick for its primary demographic, and it might somewhat succeed in its intended lightness, but anyone beyond that demographic or seeking more from a movie, would find this hard to digest.

The cliché-ridden script, unconvincing storyline, superficial handling of the subject matter, lack of character depth, poor visuals and music, all contribute to making Just My Luck an easily forgettable affair. However, despite these major pitfalls, performances by the two leads, Lohan and Pine, do render some appeal and occasionally save the day.

On the whole, Just My Luck misses its shot at achieving comedy, romance, or even thoughtful exploration of fortune’s role in life, rendering it as an ultimately unsuccessful and unsatisfying film.