Just My Luck Synopsis: Manhattanite Ashley is known to many as the luckiest woman around. After a chance encounter with a down-and-out young man, however, she realizes that she’s swapped her fortune for his.
Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) is one lucky lady. She has a fabulous job and a killer high-rise apartment in Manhattan, and things seem to fall perfectly into place for her no matter what she does. Jake (Chris Pine) lives on the opposite end of the luck spectrum, where every possible disaster that could go wrong for him does.
One night, Jake disguises himself as a dancer and sneaks into a public relations event thrown by Ashley to give Damon Phillips, a record label executive, the demo CD of a band he manages.
He ends up dancing with Ashley, and the two share a kiss, inadvertently shifting her good luck to Jake. Things immediately begin to fall into place for Jake while Ashley’s life takes a turn for the worse. Ashley realizes she needs to find the guy she kissed, who was wearing a mask at the time, to reverse her bad fortune.
It’s a silly gimmick, but it could be fun with the proper script and the right actors. Unfortunately, Just My Luck has neither… okay, it has Chris Pine, but that’s about the only thing it does have going for it. The theme of luck playing a role in love is interesting, but this movie doesn’t delve too deeply into it. It lacks any kind of nuance.
I read that this was meant to be a more adult role for Lindsay Lohan after a string of family-friendly movies, but there’s nothing about the film or Lohan’s character, Ashley, that feels adult. The movie is mostly Pine or Lohan’s characters experiencing various pratfalls and clumsiness… or dealing with animal poo – yes, Ashley’s contact falls in a litterbox full of cat feces. Then it puts it back in her eye.. why? Why would she do that?!
Anyway, I was not impressed with Just My Luck. Not even on a “so bad it’s good” level. The script was a smidge below mediocre, and Lohan and Pine were sorely lacking in the chemistry department. Ashley spends so much time trying to find Jake (or rather, the man she kissed and transferred all her luck to) that by the time she and Jake start to become friends and more, it’s too late to care.
Lindsay Lohan’s performance was also disappointing. She was great in Mean Girls (2004) and some of her earlier roles, but her portrayal as Ashley lacked her usual charm and charisma. I’ve read about her unprofessional behavior on set, so I’m not terribly surprised when that was reflected in her acting.
I don’t want to spend all day hammering on Just My Luck… it’s just not good. I’m giving it one star because Chris Pine is Chris Pine, and he’s the movie’s saving grace. But that’s all that it has going for it. Definitely skip this one.
Watched: 04/25/2022
Notable Song: Only This Moment by Röyksopp
