The Lucky One (On The Couch 2012 #7)

This one is more “On the Window Seat” than “On the Couch.” I saw The Lucky One, which I keep mistakenly calling The Vow on a flight from California to Hawaii. I’m not sure why I chose watching this movie over reading my book or playing with my iPad, but I did, and here we are.

Wrong movie.

The Lucky One is Rambo, if Rambo were made by Lifetime. Both Logan, Zac Efron’s character and John Rambo are veterans trying to find their place in the world. Both Logan and John Rambo move to new towns and immediately become unfairly targeted by a sheriff who has no respect for veterans. Rambo has explosions. The Lucky One has montages.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with montages as a storytelling device. But The Lucky One has lots of montages. I had to double-check to make sure the movie wasn’t directed by Garry Marshall. There are at least a half dozen montages in it. This just comes off as lazy storytelling. It seemed like whenever time needed to move forward, The Lucky One would jump into a montage.

I want to propose a new law. This law would limit the number of montages allowed in one movie. I’m calling it Logan’s Law. Please lend your support and contact your local congressman or screenwriter.

The Lucky One also has Zac Efron in a beard, because if he wasn’t, you’d spend the movie wondering, “What kind of country sends a 12 year old off to war?”

In the battle of Zac Efron movies involving dead brothers, Charlie St. Cloud beats The Lucky One.