My Review of "Just My Luck"

Just My Luck is kind of an old movie. It came out back in 2006 starring a very youthful Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine. I'm not sure how I don't remember ever hearing about this movie but I was surprised that the two were in a movie together as romantic leads.

The movie starts off in New York city and a girl named Ashley seems to have it all. Everything around her seems to fall into her lap. She's never late because traffic is always on her side. She seems to fortunate in all aspects of her life including relationships, money and health. Funny enough she has some pretty supportive friends.

Originally I would have thought people would be scheming behind her back because of how lucky she was. On the contrary everything in this movie world is kind of hunky dory. It's almost as if this is a Disney movie. I kind of had to look twice to see if this was some sort of Disney film or at least a subsidiary. It wasn't or I would have found this movie on Disney Plus but it was on Amazon Prime.

On the other side of the luck world we have a guy named Jake. He's the polar opposite of Ashley as everything that happens to him somehow turns to dirt. There's just so many unfortunate situations this guy falls into it is kind of comical and yet predictable. Most of the mishaps in this movie tend to be terribly predictable but in an innocent family friendly kind of way.

There's this air of kindness to Jake that we don't see in Ashley. This is probably brought on because Jake has lived his whole life with bad luck. He's come to accept it and tries to make the best of it. I can kind of see this in real life where someone would try to just accept that things are just the way they are.

In contrast to Jake, Ashley is kind of an obtuse person. She's not aware of her luck until her friends mention it to her. In her defense, if you've never experienced hardship why would you think otherwise? So her story makes as much sense as Jake however in some ways Ashley isn't that likeable for a majority of the movie. It's not like I disliked her but it's sort of like watching a spoiled kid finally realizing how normal people live.

Of course Ashley and Jake eventually switch their luck with one another at a fateful gala organized by Ashley. This whole portion of the movie screams Disney knockoff as I'm sure Lindsay Lohan was also famous for the famous Disney movie Freaky Friday. Some people will probably see this comparison right away.

Yet it's kind of a fun movie. I know it's not a masterpiece of a movie but it's a quick amusement park ride. You kind of enjoy seeing the spoiled brat finally seeing what it's like to live a not so perfect life that she's used to. Then I start feeling bad because I was enjoying her suffering.

Eventually she learns a valuable lesson in the whole ordeal and there's a nice resolution at the very end of the movie. I actually thought the ending of the movie was cleverly written. Despite the childlike events throughout the movie the ending has a nice message for family viewing. Somethings luck isn't what's important in our lives. Money, fame and power doesn't really get you something that will fulfill your life. It's quite simplistic but you'll come to realize it is a guilty pleasure.

Overall, I did enjoy the movie despite the less than par writing throughout the movie. The cast of this movie were able to put enough charm into it to keep me watching. I would have to give this movie a 6 out of 10. It is fun one-time viewing. There's no way I'd want to watch this movie a second time. Keep in mind that this is a pretty good family flick though.