Film Reviews

Good Luck Chuck

• Rating:
• Director: Mark Helfrich.
• Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Ellia English.
• Details: US / Canada / 96mins (16).

Dentist Charlie (Cook - or is it Ryan Reynolds? Does it matter?) is in a bit of a conundrum: every time he sleeps with someone, she meets the man of her dreams immediately afterwards, and Charlie has become a minor celebrity because of it. This is great news at first with women throwing themselves at him left, right and centre, but when he finally falls in love with accident-prone penguin-keeper Cam (Alba), Charlie, scared that he'll lose her, does everything in his power not to sleep with her. A lot could have been done with that premise - a guy who can't make love to his one true love - but TV writer Josh Stolberg goes for the easy option every time. With one or two decent laughs, the majority of Good Luck Chuck's 'humour' comes from age-old slapstick, roaring homophobia and misogyny. To argue that the chemistry between Alba and Cook is non-existent is pointless - this is not about believing that this couple are in love, it's about who can come out the with the grossest line, who can walk into something the hardest and who can have the worst comic timing. Result: a draw. Luckily for the age group it's pitched at - 16-year-old boys - Good Luck Chuck is Boob City.

Review by Gavin Burke