39
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe Lucky One delivers what's expected from it: a heartfelt romantic melodrama with attractive actors in the lead roles; gauzy, moody photography; a saccharine score; and all the heat that a PG-13 production can muster.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe Lucky One is at its heart a romance novel, elevated however by Nicholas Sparks' persuasive storytelling.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineAt this point, Sparksian romances unfold via their own preordained formula, and measures of their merits largely hinge on how well each can bend the cookie-cutter.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe Lucky One doesn't have the schlock rapture of "The Notebook" (the one Sparks adaptation that has really worked). The trouble with the movie isn't that it's too girly-swoony; it's that it tries to achieve emotion through glowy sunsets and a paint-by-numbers script.
- 50The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsAs a pretty, low-stakes bayou romance The Lucky One works well enough. When asked to carry any kind of dramatic weight, however, it collapses.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearQuestion: What's the only thing worse than doing an unfaithful film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel? Answer: Doing a completely faithful one.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyEmbalming the simple and simplistic yarn in an amber glow that is all but suffocating and banishing from it any traces of humor and spontaneity, director Scott Hicks serves up this treacly tale with absolutely no trace of self-consciousness about the material's cliches or simple-mindedness.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceNo amount of neck nuzzling or back arching can make us believe there's real heat rising between these two. Onscreen chemistry between actors is a mysterious thing - 100 years into cinema, it remains the one story element that Hollywood can't fake.
- 25Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallTampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMove along, guys. Nothing to see in The Lucky One, unless you're in the doghouse at home and need to make nice.