As it's a dramedy about three soldiers on leave from Iraq, describing The Lucky Ones as "timely" and "close to home" would be a gross underestimation. And the participation of a high-profile liberal activist like Tim Robbins would seem to indicate the presence of an enlightened profundity or two, no?
No. Robbins plays Cheever, who's just finished his tour and is going home with a back injury from a non-combat related accident. Michael Peña plays T.K., an ambitious, randy soldier from a long line of military careerists who had the misfortune of being injured in the dick. And lastly, Rachel McAdams is a teen runaway-turned-soldier named Colee—a promising character that McAdams squanders by playing her with all the maturity and wisdom of a gritless 12-year-old. The three meet on an airplane back to the States, and, through fluky circumstances, end up driving across the country together, sharing adventures and propping each other up against the changed landscape of their home lives.
It's not that The Lucky Ones is terrible, but the fact that it is so far from being good stings: Someday, someone is going to make a great movie about the soldiers fighting in Iraq right now. This isn't it.
104 min. | Rated R
Director: Neil Burger
Writer: Neil Burger and Dirk Wittenborn
Producer: Neil Burger
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Peña, Katherine LaNasa, Molly Hagan, Spencer Garrett, Arden Myrin, Kirk B.R. Woller, Annie Corley and Christian Stolte
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