GOOD LUCK CHUCK

"I'm cursed"

Charlie Logan (Cook) had never had a problem attracting the ladies, he just had problems keeping them. The thing is that every time he slept with a girl the next man she met they ended up marrying. As word of this started to get around, women started to flock to his dental practice looking for a date. As his best friend Stu (Fogler) pushes him to take advantage of this opportunity, Charlie meets Cam (Alba) and he desperately doesn't his curse to be true because she might actually be the one.

Gross out comedies seem to have run out of steam as of late but can 'Good Luck Chuck' bring back the fun?

The success of films like 'There's Something About Mary' and the 'American Pie' franchise led to a glut of gross-out comedies that pushed the boundaries of common decency to its very limits but audiences soon got used to any shock value these movies had. It was only when Judd Apatow directed the hits 'The 40 Year-old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up' and produced 'Superbad' that the gross out comedy came back with a vengeance. The difference between these movies and those that had failed however, was that they had a heart and an endearing quality that ran throughout the films. Unfortunately 'Good Luck Chuck' doesn't follow this successful formula.

The story of a man who thinks he has a curse placed upon him when he was younger and now believes that every woman he has sex with will marry the next man they meet is too over the top to really connect with an audience. Were 'The 40 Year-old Virgin', 'Superbad' and 'Knocked Up' succeeded was by telling plausible, real human stories and adding a comedic twist to them, this is too over the top however.

The cast that director Mark Helfrich, making his big screen debut, has gathered together do inject some decent comedic moments into the movie however. Dane Cook continues on his mission to become a comedy leading man as Charlie, the man with the woman problem. He does a good enough job to keep you engaging and rooting for him to find love but he isn't the underdog that the writers would have hoped the audience would connect with. Jessica Alba tries her best as overly clumsy love interest Cam but it is very hard to believe that someone who looks like her would have trouble getting a man, even if she was a disaster waiting to happen. Dan Fogler fails to create a lovable, chubby friend/side kick in Stu. Instead we have someone who is completely repulsive and you have to wonder why anyone would be his friend.

'Good Luck Chuck' is a return to the old ways of gross out comedies. With a plotline that is over the top and characters that never really appeal, its only saving grace are the few genuine comedy moments that will have you chuckling. Aside from this, Chuck's luck has definitely run out.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Audio Commentary with Dane Cook, the director, producer and writer
The star of the film is joined by director Mark Helfrich, producer Mike Karz and producer Brian Volk-Weiss to provide a chatty and amusing commentary track for 'Good Luck Chuck'. This is a track that fans of the film should enjoy as the group really have fun with it.

Featurettes (28.12 mins)
Split into parts entitled 'Kama Sutra', 'Polymastia - Multiple Mammaries', 'All about the Penguins', 'Good Luck Chuckles', 'Frank the Penguin Actor', 'Eleanor Skepple' and 'Real Life 'Good Luck Chuck'', director Mark Helfrich, producers Mike Karz and Brian Volk-Weiss, writer Josh Stolberg and stars Dave Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler and Annie Wood take you through the making of 'Good Luck Chuck'.

Gag Reel (9.17 mins)
Watch the cast have fun on set and make a hash of their lines

Deleted Scenes (2.39 mins)
Entitled 'Stop light' and 'Alternative Ending', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track to review why they were removed.

Extended Scenes (4.10 mins)
Entitled 'Charlie keeps calling Cam', 'Spin the bottle', 'Phone montage', 'Joe narrates' and 'Joe can relate', watch the full versions of the scenes.

Alternate Scenes (2.21 mins)
Entitled 'Charlie beats up not George', 'Crazy breakfast', 'Airport security', 'Charlie and Cam - Home Video 1 & 2'

Ad Libs (8.07 mins)
Watch 'Robert Kelly - Airport Security', 'Dan Fogler - Stu' and 'Dane Cook - Charlie' ad lib some of their key scenes.

Music Montage (7.18 mins)
Watch scenes from the movie with tracks from 'The Honorary Title' and 'The Flaming Lips'

Trailers
Previews of 'Employee of the Month', 'In the Hands of the Gods', '3:10 to Yuma' and 'War'

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Good Luck Chuck' is one that fans of the film should enjoy. The commentary track is good and the featurettes are fun making this a good DVD package.

DVD

The Heartbreak Kid

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2007