The Lucky One

by Jessica

 

More guys in the world should look like Zac Efron in The Lucky One. Efron gained eighteen pounds of muscle to play U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault for this film, and it definitely added to the character he was portraying. Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks, The Lucky One tells the story of veteran Logan stumbling across the picture of a stranger while at war and how it seemed to save him from events that most weren’t as lucky to survive. Logan promised himself that if he made it out of the war, he would find this girl and thank her for that. Little did he know how long it would take and on such a journey it would take him.

 

There’s something about Logan that sets him apart from others, aside from being a Marine: he loves to walk. And walk he did to find the girl in the photo. He researched the picture online, and it took him all the way across the country, from Colorado to Louisiana. And he walked - the entire way. But he did have a buddy with him, German shepherd Zeus. But a misconception when he finds who he has been searching for extends a temporary visit to a permanent living arrangement. Did the girl save Logan, or is he the one truly saving her?

The Lucky One, which came out April 20, 2012, was most definitely a change in character for the loveable Zac Efron everyone knows as Troy Bolton from High School Musical (2006). Logan is a serious and loyal person, quiet but so intelligent. He has so many hidden talents that one might confuse him for a magician! But that hobby is reserved for another character in the movie. Logan is sweet and caring, and he will do anything for those he loves and will always stand by those in need. And as he points out, “It’s how Marines work. We watch each other’s backs. You don’t worry about yourself. You think about the guy next to you.”

This movie is strong in emotion; you watch it, and you’re soaring, devastated, worried, anxious, laughing, terrified, relieved. Every feeling you can imagine is in this. And something that especially got me thinking was one of the film’s main motifs - does life have a plan for us? I think about this sometimes, and Logan said, “If it does, it hasn’t shared it with me.” We don’t know this; we never can while we’re still here. So like Logan and the girl in the picture, we live the best that we can, and even though life can be unpredictable and seemingly led by fate, we have to trust in that it is leading us where we are supposed to go.

 

The Lucky One deals with very real and frightening scenarios, the biggest being anger issues in the girl’s ex. She stands very still whenever he’s around and seems about ready to explode. She talks calmly and tries to keep everything out of his hands that he might use against her or even himself. People like him aren’t inherently bad people, as Logan tells him. I believe it’s an interesting subplot in the movie, and it leads to the extremely intense climax that will leave you breathless.

 

But overall, and aside from those sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat scenes, The Lucky One is about finding love in unexpected ways, the kind all great romance movies seem to encompass. It’s about being open to others, and to yourself, even when you don’t want to or think you need to be. It’s about following your heart, as cheesy as that might sound, and trusting in unimaginable turns of event in life.

The Lucky One is one of the best romance movies I’ve ever seen because I can be quite picky when it comes to overly mushy movies that are totally gag-worthy. But this one gets you thinking, about life and love and loss and how we can never know or be in charge of everything. Some things just have to happen naturally. As Logan ponders, “How can you explain something that you can’t even understand yourself?” Well you can’t, not always. But if you’re lucky enough to find the one, you don’t have to explain everything; they’ll just know.