Search - Lucky 13 on DVD

Very Slight

Jim M. | Springfield MA | 04/06/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"LUCKY 13 is about a guy who has been in love with his next door neighbor (Lauren Graham of the GILMORE GIRLS) all his life. When she tells him she is moving away, he tries to go through his life, revisiting his past 12 relationships, to see how he can get her to fall in love with him before he leaves.

The film is very slight. Too slight even. It runs less than 75 minutes. And, for Lauren Graham fans, she only has a couple scenes in it.

It also isn't very believable. Here is a guy, who supposedly is such a loser, yet everywhere he walks around town, he seems to run into another girl that he has dated. Is the town THAT small? His entire quest to visit his past girlfriends is basically just walking up and down the main street of town.

The premise is an intereting one and the cast is good, but it doesn't feel finished. It also just ends without any real resolution.

As for the DVD, not worth picking up. No extras, just the film which has a good transfer. Not worth the full price they are currently charging. Maybe worth a rental or watching on TV."

Unlucky

Kelcony | Penfield, NY United States | 06/24/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The beginning of Lucky 13 reminded me of two other independent films that I had enjoyed: the French movie "Amelie" and "Garden State." I was ready for a fun, artsy film.
There is, however, a fine line between "creative and artsy" and "stupid and weird." I can't imagine what the makers of Lucky 13 were thinking when they produced this dull monstrosity. Nor can I imagine how, when they viewed the finished product, they still allowed it to be sent out to the public.
Lucky 13 was boring, to put it bluntly. The characters? Two dimensional wack jobs. The main character, Zach Baker, reminded me of a block of wood with a bird's nest on top. Lauren Graham, whom I had high hopes for, did a mediocre job but was still by far the best character. The plot? Unimaginative (to say the least), slow moving, and badly resolved. Even if we step aside from the unrealistic search for Zach's 12 girlfriends, we find ourselves extremely skeptical that he ever HAD 12 girlfriends to begin with. Without looks, money, or personality...but then, when we see the girls he's gone out with (all mentally or physically deranged), we begin to understand.
Even the music for Lucky 13 left much to be desired. However, there is one compliment I can pay to the film: it was short, barely topping an hour. So even if the movie itself is a complete waste of time, at least it's not a complete waste of a lot of time."

Lucky 13: the number of viewers who may like this film

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 06/16/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone could take the premise of this story and make a decent film out of it - anyone except director Chris Hall, apparently. I really don't know what to make of Lucky 13; it's a romantic comedy with very little romance or comedy. It plods along, basically emotionless and lethargic, meandering all over the place like a distracted child. You wait for the ending, sure that you'll finally find a payoff for all the torturous buildup. Nope - just more frustration. Maybe it's just me, but the ending of this film doesn't even make sense. If there's a point to all this, it must be about as sharp as a plastic knife.

Zach Baker (Brad Hunt) is a loser from a dysfunctional family. All of his life, the girl-next-door has been Abbey (Gilmore Girls' Lauren Graham), and Zach seems perfectly content hanging out with her and his best buddy Bleckman (Harland Williams) - until Abbey announces that she is going to New York to pursue her art (in the company of a ridiculously transparent "artist"). Zach has only three days to try and convince Abbey to stay. Bleckman, one of the most pathetic characters I've seen in a long time, and Zach's family tell him Abbey's out of his league (who isn't?), but Zach's determined to try. The plan he comes up with is to talk to his former girlfriends to find out his shortcomings in the dating department. How this guy has ever had twelve girlfriends, I will never know. They're some strange ones, though, that's for sure. For some reason, none of the girls tells him that the Greatest American Hero called and wants his hair back, but Zach finally does something about the old mop in preparation for his big date on the eve of Abbey's departure - unfortunately, he goes from bad to worse by choosing an Owen Wilson 'do.

Why am I even telling you anything that happens? None of it is interesting or particularly amusing, and - not to belabor the fact or anything - the ending stinks like an outhouse in July. What else didn't I like about Lucky 13? Well, I can't forget the music - certainly not the one annoying song that seemed to be played over and over again. Then, there's the R rating thing. Two short yet racy scenes at the very beginning plus a moderate supply of adult language earned this movie an R rating. Despite the rating, Lucky 13 is really all about sappy PG-13 dialogue. This movie is hurting for an audience in any case, and the director needlessly turned some viewers away with a completely unnecessary R rating.

The only thing this movie has going for it is Lauren Graham, but her character doesn't get all that much time on the screen. The script is a total dud. I couldn't even figure out if Zach had always secretly loved Abbey or if he only fell in love with her when he heard she was leaving. There's just no depth to these characters whatsoever. File Lucky 13 under M for major disappointment."

My fault...I picked it up based on the actress...

Music lover in Omaha | Omaha, Ne | 07/28/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I only picked this one up because it had Lauren Graham in it. I had never heard of this movie, but thought "What the heck, with Lauren Graham, how bad could it be?" Oh my god! It was worse than one could imagine. What were they thinking? I agree with other reviewers....How did this guy have 12 previous girlfriends? Be kind to your brain cells...skip this one."