11 Dec 2007

Good Luck Chuck

Original Title: Director: Mark Helfrich

Director: Mark Helfrich

Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler

Release: 2007-12-11

Just when we thought that obscene toilet humour and the Farrelly brothers' vulgar romantic comedies (Shallow Hal, There's Something About Mary) have long gone out of style, along comes not one but two smutty romantic comedies back to back. Last week, we saw the rude and crude romantic-comedy The Heartbreak Kid. This week's offers yet another rude and crude romantic comedy called Good Luck Chuck.

Stand-up comedian Dane Cook gets his first starring role as Chuck, a man who is cursed during a childhood game of spin the bottle, so that every woman he sleeps with will immediately find true love and get married just not to him. At first, this is terrific because Chuck gets to sleep with hundreds of women who want to find their one true love. But when Chuck falls in love with a sweet penguin trainer (Jessica Alba), he realises he has to get rid of the curse so he can be with her...

Expect plenty of bad jokes about breasts, penises and one very fat woman. In general, the women in this movie are portrayed as sex-starved sluts who can't wait to jump into bed with Chuck with their legs open. Even though Jessica Alba actually delivers a decent comedic performance, the same can't be said for Dane Cook who comes off as vulgar and smarmy.

Frat boys may enjoy this movie to a degree, while lesbian viewers may find the portrayal of women extremely cheap and demeaning, even if they love Jessica Alba. Gay men should simply stay away. Without a doubt, this is one of the worst movies of the year.