THE LUCKY ONE – review

JUDGING BY the hordes of screaming tweens that queued to catch a glimpse of him last week, Zac Efron’s latest big-screen weepie would appear both critic-proof and destined for box-office glory. Add to that the fact the story stems from the pen of a certain Nicholas Sparks (THE NOTEBOOK), and it could even appear to be a licence to print money.

Such matters may have encouraged filmmaker Scott Hicks to come aboard, given the relative disappointment of his last dramatic outing, 2009’s THE BOYS ARE BACK. The South Australian is unlikely to ever match the note-perfect success of 1996’s SHINE, but remains highly regarded for a no-nonsense, lyrical style that seeks to play to the audience’s hand.

Inevitably, then, this romantic drama aims to deliver precisely what its female demographic demands. There’s a beefed-up Efron, dominating screen time, as the brooding Logan: a US Marine recovering from three tours of duty in Iraq. He’s convinced he only survived thanks to a random photo he found of a mysterious blonde. Once home, he naturally sets out to find and thank her.

Swiftly crossing the US, from Colorado to North Carolina, Logan soon comes across the woman in the photo, Beth (a striking Taylor Schilling), whose brother died in Iraq. She happens to run a kennel. He happens to have a dog – and is in need of a job. Without explaining the real reason for being there, Logan signs up. And before long, he’s playing man about the house for single mum Beth, her grandmother Ellie (an ever-reliable Blythe Danner) and Beth’s young boy, Ben (Riley Thomas Stewart), much to the chagrin of Beth’s bonehead ex, local cop Keith (Jay R. Ferguson).

Wearing its heart oh-so-heavily on its tear-soaked sleeve, this latest adaptation from the house of Sparks – the seventh of his mushy tomes to make it to the big screen (with several others on the way) – is typically contrived in its set-up and absurdly predictable as it plays out. Most of his characters are little more than mere sketches, and only the women (Schilling and Danner) even vaguely register dramatically. Similarly, Beth’s boy, Ben (Stewart, who played Mel Gibson’s boy in THE BEAVER) is left largely out of proceedings, for no discernible reason.

Perhaps in deference to studio strategy, Hicks keeps the focus squarely on Efron and the mawkish romance that Logan strikes up with Schilling’s Beth. Obligatory love scenes feature – nothing too racy, of course, given the core audience – to the sounds of a soundtrack that continually soars with inoffensive ideals.

Given that this is, effectively, another showpiece for the 24-year-old High-School Musical star, the only real shock for Efron obsessives will be to see him cast against a relative unknown (TV’s Schilling, who appears as dewy-eyed over her co-star as the audience). The pair work reasonably well together, given the slightness of the material, with Schilling likely to benefit most from the exposure. Efron broods well enough, too, even if there’s still a tendency for him to look faintly lost when anything remotely demanding is required. Dramatically, the only real surprise is a pair of less-than-believable stand-offs between Efron’s Logan and his male counterpart, Ferguson’s Keith, where our US Marine hero resists the urge to lash out, taking the higher ground all-too quickly on both occasions.

It’s this last point, in fact, that irks most about Sparks’ sugar-soaked, tear-jerking formula. Displaying a blind faith in the military might of his nation, the term ‘friendly fire’ is proudly thrown about as if it’s a justified rule of engagement, rather than the horrific accident that it is in reality.

There’s been plenty of comment on film about the Iraq war, of course, and about the process of relaying grim news to loved ones back home. Here, Hicks is working from dubious source material, which offers little in the way of any great impact. Romantic dramas about returning servicemen do not by their nature inherently lack gravitas, even if romance ultimately dictates and dominates proceedings. Sparks’ books are more Mills & Boon than The Deerhunter, though. A fact that’s highlighted on the big screen.

Hicks’ star, Efron, will no doubt make further weepies, and may well emerge as a bona fide acting force in the years ahead. As too, one imagines, will Schilling. Hicks, meanwhile, should certainly see this deliver a tidy profit for studio chiefs which, one hopes, will free up resources for something more substantial to follow. Shine continues to cast its long, indomitable shadow over what has followed. Given its pedigree, though, there are far worse burdens to have to overcome.

THE LUCKY ONE is now showing in cinemas.

Critical Rating: 5/10.

First published in The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age.

ED GIBBS