Missed opportunity

ZAC Efron is back in full leading-man harness in Scott Hicks’ “The Lucky One”—a self-indulgent, Nicholas Sparks-penned film looped around the romance that blossoms between guilt-ridden Logan Thibault (Efron) and grief-stricken Beth Clayton (Taylor Schilling).

Logan is a Marine who returns home after three tours of duty in Iraq, while the latter is a single mom who’s still mourning the death of her soldier brother. They don’t know each other, but Logan calls Beth his “angel in hell,” because he narrowly escaped death after he stumbled onto the photograph of a smiling Beth during a midnight ambush.

Sparks fly the first time the couple meets—but, their relationship turns inauspicious after Beth is spooked by Logan’s honest admission that he walked the 1,500km distance between North Colorado and Louisiana just to get to where her kennel operates.

Sense of security

Beth’s apprehension doesn’t stop her from hiring the “crazy drifter” as the canine facility’s all-around utility guy. How can she resist the sense of security Logan provides—not to mention those dreamy, sensitive eyes?

Just as Logan and Beth find themselves falling deeply for each other, in comes the movie’s resident baddie, in the person of Keith (Jay R. Ferguson), Beth’s cocky, abusive ex-husband, who thinks he can bully his way back into her life.

But, love prevails—unless the lovebirds allow themselves to be overwhelmed by the slight wrinkle Sparks eventually introduces into their love story—after all, what’s a Nicholas Sparks movie without the requisite dark twist in the end, right?

With its sparklingly crisp photography, picture-perfect locale, a riveting premise, a solid supporting cast (Blythe Danner is a comforting presence, while the formidable Ferguson shows there’s more to his mean mien than meets the eye) and eye-candy leads, the movie gets off to a promising start.

At final fade, however, Hicks botches the perfect opportunity to transcend Sparks’ schmaltzy excesses (the guy just loves yanking at those proverbial heartstrings)—especially when the script’s facile (and contrived) narrative device kicks in and erodes the emotional impact it initially has.

You wince in your seat as the film belabors an invisible conflict (yes, there’s none) that keeps Logan and Beth from riding happily into the sunset. Sparks’ hackneyed penchant for melodrama and formulaic pathos draw viewers’ attention away from the production’s stronger elements.

The lovely Schilling works hard, but the movie belongs to Efron, whose steely, purposeful presence and stellar appeal help leaven the melodramatic proceedings—and keep “The Lucky One” from getting stuck in ponderous mush.