The Lucky Ones

Name: The Lucky Ones
Genre: Drama, Comedy, War
Released: September 26, 2008
Duration: 115 min
Rating: 53
Cast: Michael Peña, Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins

2008

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Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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The Lucky Ones

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Movie Details & Credits

Lionsgate | Release Date: September 26, 2008 | R

Starring: Michael Peña, Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins

Summary: T.K. Poole, Colee Dunn and Fred Cheever arrive in New York from Germany only to find their connecting flights canceled due to a power outage. Anxious to get to their respective destinations, they agree to share a rented minivan to suburban St. Louis where Cheever is to reunite with his wife and teenage son. From there, the other two plan toT.K. Poole, Colee Dunn and Fred Cheever arrive in New York from Germany only to find their connecting flights canceled due to a power outage. Anxious to get to their respective destinations, they agree to share a rented minivan to suburban St. Louis where Cheever is to reunite with his wife and teenage son. From there, the other two plan to fly to Las Vegas where the macho T.K. wants to make an important stop before seeing his fiancee and the tough yet naive Colee plans to pay a visit to a fallen fellow-soldier's family. But when Cheever's homecoming turns out to be a far cry from what he anticipated, the trio's one-day drive expands into an impromptu cross-country marathon. (Roadside Attractions)… Expand

Director: Neil Burger

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 115 min

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert

This formula is fraught with pitfalls, but the characters and the actors redeem it with a surprising emotional impact. Read full review

Laura Kern

Because the lead actors work so well together, adding depth and levels of vulnerability to fairly underwritten roles, the emotional consequences of the sense of displacement these "lucky" characters -- lucky to be alive, lucky to have met one another -- must deal with always ring true. Read full review

Nathan Rabin

Like its lead characters, Lucky is wounded, lost, and impractical, but it has a messy, winning humanity and an agreeably leisurely pace that almost redeems it. Read full review

Marc Mohan

It's not a political film, but it's also not a bland recitation of homilies about the honor of serving one's country. It's a jokey road movie, in which three soldiers heading home from Iraq are forced into a cross-country van ride together. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

More than a story about Iraq war veterans, The Lucky Ones is a movie about carefully considering one's options. Read full review

Rick Groen

If this is meant to look fresh while still being sensitive, it doesn't and it isn't. Read full review

Kyle Smith

Cheap, ignorant, tone-deaf and condescending, but what's strangest about it is that it actually thinks it's pro-soldier even as it portrays vets home on leave as foolish (Rachel McAdams), desperate (Tim Robbins) and dishonorable (Michael Pena) while playing all three situations for laughs. Read full review

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JohnT

Jun 1, 2009

If you cannot find the sincerity in this movie, you may have to check yourself. While it is not billed as the most "realistic" of welcome home veteran movies, it does an AMAZING job of hitting the right notes on the emotional scale. It is a more heartfelt Little Miss Sunshine with a bit of If you cannot find the sincerity in this movie, you may have to check yourself. While it is not billed as the most "realistic" of welcome home veteran movies, it does an AMAZING job of hitting the right notes on the emotional scale. It is a more heartfelt Little Miss Sunshine with a bit of reality check in the middle. Obviously between the hard right and hard left, critics did not see fit to give it a good score. Watch this movie.… Expand