Audiences are in ‘luck’

Megan Rozsa

When young Chuck refused to kiss the scary goth girl, she placed a hex on him, dooming his love life for years to come.

That was 1985.

Now, every girl Chuck (Dane Cook) sleeps with and dumps gets married to the next guy she meets. He becomes a good luck charm. Hence the title.

When Chuck and his friend Stuart (Dan Fogler) discover he can use the women who know about his charm just for sex, Chuck turns into a nympho.

When Chuck attends the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, he meets Cam Wexler (Jessica Alba), the ditzy girl next door. While it’s easy to spot which mishap is going to occur next, she plays a very charming character. After Chuck meets her, he wants to change his ways so he can maintain a relationship with Cam.

Cam works with penguins at Aquaworld and is equally fanatic about penguins in her life outside of work. Her room is filled with penguin memorabilia, and her bed is adorned with penguin sheets.

At first, she refuses to date Chuck, saying she doesn’t want to be just another girl for him to use. That isn’t really the case. She is the first girl he actually really likes, and he doesn’t want to lose her to another guy and, according to the curse, marriage.

Chuck makes wild efforts to keep Cam close, efforts that scare her away. He sends her massive amounts of flowers, turns into that clingy boyfriend no one likes and eventually he loses her.

The rest of the movie unfolds to a happy, unexpected ending, making this one of Cook’s better movies. He doesn’t use any of his previously heard jokes, but he still uses techniques and voice inflections with which his listeners are familiar.

The movie never has a dull moment. Whether it’s Alba tripping or Cook making a hilarious joke, this movie will keep you laughing.

There is one flaw in the movie, though. Can you spot it? I’ll give you a hint: Watch the top of the screen.

Contact all correspondent Megan Rozsa at [email protected].