What could have been a pleasurable romp, LUCKY LADY is, instead, a dismal example of Hollywood think. How Stanley Donen (CHARADE, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS) could have let anyone talk him into the choice of using "flashed" film, is a real mystery. The result looks out of focus and "artsy, schmartsy," destroying what intimacy the cast could evoke, given the skelatal storyline. The editing is a disaster. A scene where Reynolds and Hackman make off with two whores after being abandoned by Minelli is immediately followed by all three in bed together. There's little or no narrative establishing Minelli's relationship with her "legit" boyfriend, nor is there any explanation as to why Reynolds and Hackman would except this complication in their already complex relationship with Minelli. There are a few good lines, ("ANYTHING would be better than singing with a Mariachi band) but the story is not just light, it's almost nonexistant.
It's too bad there is no motivation for Fox to open the vaults to show us what we REALLY missed. There MIGHT be a movie in a re-edited LUCKY LADY. Unfortunately, there simply isn't one on display in the final product. I give it a "5," simply because the story mostly makes sense.
It's too bad there is no motivation for Fox to open the vaults to show us what we REALLY missed. There MIGHT be a movie in a re-edited LUCKY LADY. Unfortunately, there simply isn't one on display in the final product. I give it a "5," simply because the story mostly makes sense.