Good Luck Chuck Blu-ray delivers stunning video and solid audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Cursed since childhood, dentist Charlie Kagan cannot find the right woman. Even worse, he learns that each of his ex-girlfriends finds true love with the man she meets after her relationship with him ends. Hearing of Charlie's reputation as a good-luck charm, women from
all over line up for a quick tryst. But when Charlie meets the woman of his dreams, he must find a way to break the curse or risk losing her to the next man she meets.
Or, in the case of Good Luck Chuck's title character, "always a lover, never a groom" or "always a matchmaker, never a soulmate" or "always
a bachelor, never a truly happy man -- sexually satisfied, definitely; physically fulfilled, sure; emotionally content, never." See, Chuck's got this little
thing called a curse hanging around his neck, or is it hanging off of something else? When he exposes his magic wand, he's capable of
performing feats greater than any man has known before: he can bring true love to the women who gladly give themselves to him in the name of
finding that perfect someone and their own little slice of happily ever after. It might sound like a dream job, living life only to pleasure women and in
turn enjoying the fruits of said labor, but Good Luck Chuck goes to show that too much of a good thing really isn't all that good after awhile.
But
too little of a good thing isn't all that good, either. Good Luck Chuck is the ultimate one-trick pony, a movie that asserts its premise and
repeats it, again and again, with no heart and only cursory laughs. It's the epitome of the generic raunchy Comedy that bends and stretches and
maneuvers into any and every position to try and find some sort of greater theme, only to fall flat and limp as it goes through the motions and
predictably explodes towards the inevitable happy pants, happy face, happy body, happy mind, happy soul climax.
Hard at work.
A big-city dentist named Charlie (Dane Cook) is a chick magnet. It's not just because he's good-looking or successful, but because word has slowly
but surely gotten around that Charlie's something of a good-luck charm. Sleep with him, many a girl have learned, and find true love immediately
thereafter. There's only one problem: they don't find that true love with Charlie. No, he was cursed as a child and is doomed to just sleep with all
the girls, not love them. Still, he's a big hit around town; many of his dental clients and sexual conquests are amongst the best-looking girls around,
but even with all those notches on his bedpost he's living a fairly unfulfilled life. He's the envy of his best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), a cosmetic
surgeon
who specializes in breast augmentation. Stu might fondle women all day, but he can't score with one to save his life. One day, Charlie meets Cam
(Jessica
Alba), a zoo employee whose life revolves around penguins. Charlie's head over heels, but he knows that giving himself to her just means that
she'll fall in love with someone else. As a desperate last measure, Charlie and Stu concoct a plan to rid Chuck of the curse, but both must be
prepared to do anything in the name of real love and friendship if they are to find success and true happiness.
Good Luck Chuck, when one boils it down right to its core essence and removing all the frat boy humor, is a story of doing whatever it takes
to
find that one special someone, to discover that person who satisfies not only in the bedroom, but in life, that single soulmate partner who makes
everything better, whether between the sheets or out in the real world when one must deal with real problems and challenges that require a strong
supporter, not just a fine lover. The movie's about finding true love by way of the physical, making use of a "middle man," so to speak, the picture's
story revolving around a third-wheel physical component that's somehow necessary to finding two-wheeled and balanced emotional fulfillment. It
cheapens the meaning of
true
love not just by way of using the physical to settle the emotional, but by characters forcing the issue rather than allowing life and nature to take
their
courses. Oddly, there's not even mention of what might happen if Chuck were to fall in love and abstain from sex until the ring's on his finger. It's
at least an idea that should have been explored. Sure there may be an arousing allure to the story as-is, but some audiences will most certainly be
turned off merely by the basics of the plot.
Then again, most such audiences will
want to bypass this one, anyway, as they're the same folks most likely to be offended by the crude language and soft-core nature of the sexual
encounters that unabashedly appear on the screen. Good Luck Chuck certainly isn't for all audiences; there's no holding back with this one,
and audiences need enter at their own
risk.
Yet if one were to lay praise on the picture, one must acknowledge that it's different -- somewhat original, even -- and absolutely unafraid of what it
is, where it's headed, and what it shows along the way. From smoking-hot chicks to a grossly overweight woman in a bikini, from complex sexual
positions to random sexual encounters, the picture does everything and goes everywhere it can without devolving into the biggest-budgeted
pornographic movie in history. There is some humor here -- some of it works, some of it falls absolutely flat -- and there is a plot (as simpleminded
and repetitive as it may be) so the picture at least fits into a mainstream current, even if it's the sort of thing that may bother many mainstream
viewers. The picture certainly requires an open mind to watch, let alone enjoy, but it's not just the premise and the sex and nudity and language
that might turn some viewers off. Good Luck Chuck simply falls short as well-crafted entertainment. It may be visually constructed with
technical knowhow and polish, but the script hangs onto the premise
and builds absolutely every scene by merely repeating it. Chuck is either sleeping with a woman or talking to someone about his "curse." There's
maybe a dozen lines in the movie, all of which are merely recycled from one scene to the next. OK, so that's a slight exaggeration, but the film
definitely
does little more than work through that classic "wash-rinse-repeat" cycle of dull storytelling. As a result, the pace is slow and audiences know what
to expect with every scene, right down to the obligatory ending which anyone can predict before the movie even begins. Worse, the acting leaves
much to be desired, though in the cast's defense the shallow script gives them little to do with their characters. Dan Fogler is the lone highlight as
the breast-obsessed best friend, and it's his character's Total Recall-inspired resolution that's probably the best surprise in the
entire movie.
Lionsgate's Blu-ray release of Good Luck Chuck delivers a fine and filmic 1080p high definition transfer. Though it's certainly quite warm -- the
opening "spin the bottle" scene in particular and at various stretches where the characters look excessively tanned or lightly burned -- the image delivers
vibrant, steady colors that appear most of the way natural, whether colorful clothes or lighter gray-colored city exteriors. The image is handsomely crisp
and very well defined. It's naturally sharp and delivers what are often striking details in foregrounds and backgrounds alike. Distant elements -- people,
trees -- remain focused and crisp, while close-ups are highly revealing of everything from fine lines and textures in fabric to Dane Cook's acne scars and
various girls' freckles. Skin tones, as noted, are sometimes ablaze, but black levels are fairly deep and accurate, never lightening up and never crushing
out necessary detail. The image retains a naturally light layer of film grain, and print wear and other visual anomalies are largely absent. This is a very
strong, very film-like, very satisfying Blu-ray transfer from Lionsgate.
Good Luck Chuck comes to Blu-ray with a proficient, but not quite all-out awesome, LPCM 7.1 uncompressed soundtrack. The track's music
sounds always just a touch reserved. The entire thing, really, could stand a little more energy, and not just in its music. The good news is that
clarity is excellent all-around, and the track features a good sense of natural spacing. This soundtrack delivers fair, casually immersive ambience, though
much seems to linger more across the front than spread naturally around to the backs. Light chirping birds and slight applause at an early wedding
scene help identify the environment but don't pull the listener seamlessly into the moment. A rainstorm late in the movie really only gives the
sound of rain rather than saturate the listening area. A jet engine that rumbles its way through the soundstage in chapter eight represents probably the
single-best effect in the entire picture. For the most part, this is a dialogue-intensive film. The spoken word is delivered evenly from the center speaker
and with the sort of clarity and accuracy listeners should expect of a lossless or uncompressed sound presentation. This track won't blow anyone away,
but the end result is a pleasant, gratifying sonic experience.
Good Luck Chuck contains a boatload of extras, including several featurettes, an audio commentary, and additional scenes.
Audio Commentary: Actor Dane Cook, Director Mark Helfrich, Producer Mike Karz, and Writer Josh Stolberg deliver a somewhat
funny and mostly steady commentary that's a nice mixture between informative and casual. They discuss the history of the project, the work of the
cast,
shooting locales, technical secrets, filming the sex scenes, and other standard commentary fare. There's definitely some material in here that's
suitable only for audiences mature enough to handle the movie.
Frank the Penguin Actor (1080p, 2:49): A humorous look at the work of an actor penguin in the movie.
Polymastia (1080p, 4:15): A discussion of the three-breasted character and the process of creating the effect for the film.
Kama Sutra (1080p, 2:42): Incorporating various sex positions into the movie.
All About Penguins (1080p, 7:42): Another supplement focusing on the penguin actors in the movie.
Eleanor Skepple (1080p, 5:00): Casting the large actress who appears in the film.
Good Luck Chuckles (1080p, 3:52): Comic physical punishment on the set.
Real Life Chuck (1080p, 3:00): A look at the life of Steve Glenn, a "real life" "Chuck."
Sex Matrix (1080p): Viewers may watch any of sixteen brief sex clips.
Ad Libs (1080p, 8:28): Stu, Charlie, and Airport Security.
Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:45):Stoplight and Alternate Ending.
Extended Scenes (1080p, 4:21): Charlie Keeps Calling Cam, Spin the Bottle, Phone Montage, Joe Narrates, and Joe Can
Relate.
Alternate Scenes (1080p, 2:26): Charlie Beats up George, Crazy Breakfast, Airport Security, Charlie & Cam Home Video 1, and
Charlie & Cam Home Video 2.
Outtakes/Gag Reel (1080p, 9:29).
Music Montages (1080p): The Honorary Title -- Accident Prone (3:25) and The Flaming Lips -- I Was Zapped By the Lucky
Super
Rainbow (4:00).
Also from Lionsgate (1080p): Trailers for other Lionsgate titles.
Good Luck Chuck is little more than a frat house special. It's got boobs and farts (admittedly the fart was pretty funny in context) and crude
language and lots and lots of soft core sex. The guys get most of the visuals, but the girls get a sweaty and oftentimes naked Dane Cook. The movie
aims for the
outrageous, taking things as far as "unrated" currently allows. It's not usually all that funny, but even audiences offended by the story or the sex will
probably laugh once or twice. The movie is absolutely unafraid of doing its thing, so props for its courage. It's technically well made but many audiences
will tire of the way the
movie simply rehashes the same predicament in every single scene. Maybe worst of all, there's no heart or soul, even when the movie tries to the
contrary. Lionsgate's
Blu-ray release of Good Luck Chuck features stellar video, serviceable audio, and a boatload of extras. This one's worth a rental for audiences
who
enjoy this sort of thing and have yet to see the movie, while established fans may simply buy with confidence.
