"Good Luck Chuck"
Rated: R
Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Lonny Ross
Directed by Mark Helfrich
Runtime: 96 min.
Dane Cook's newest comedic venture, "Good Luck Chuck," leaves his character in need of more than the normal protection in his relationships.
"Good Luck Chuck" oxymoronically chronicles the unlucky love life of Charlie (Cook), a dentist with an affinity for one-night stands.
Chuck's woes began when he was hexed by a Goth girl he rejected during a game of spin the bottle in junior high. She cursed his relationships, ensuring he would never find lasting love.
In his adult life, Chuck has no lack of partners but a true lack of commitment. What really drives his emotional pain home, though, is all of his exes end up married to the next men they go out with.
Based on this, women begin to believe Chuck is a good luck charm for their relationships - if they sleep with him just once, their next boyfriend will be Mr. Right.
Finally, Chuck finds a girl with whom he hopes to build a relationship that lasts. At the wedding reception of one of his exes, he meets Cam (Jessica Alba), a penguin-obsessed, accident-prone girl for whom he instantly falls - almost literally.
At first, Charlie is hesitant to hook up with Cam. He's afraid she'll instantly move on to find her one true love and it won't be him.
Though audiences may have high hopes for a flick that combines Cook's laughs with Alba's looks, they will be disappointed.
"Good Luck Chuck" does have entertainment value - one laugh-out-loud moment involves a collision with a dove and the bride's bouquet at a wedding reception, which results with the bird in a young girl's plate.
However, the value is severely diminished by the amount of graphic material in the film: at one point, viewers are bombarded with a montage of scenes in which Chuck has sex with various women, which leaves nothing to the imagination.
Most appalling is Charlie's best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), a perverted plastic surgeon who has no lines in the movie that don't reference breasts, masturbation or sex.
"Good Luck Chuck" may have been more enjoyable had the sexual innuendos been subtler and less revealing - nudity isn't central to the plot and adds nothing to the film except for a little soft porn.
Daily Egyptian writer Audra Ord can be reached as 536-3311 ext. 275 or at aord@siude.com.
