The Lucky Ones centers around 3 American soldiers who, upon returning home from Iraq wind up traveling together across the country to their respective homes, after they are unable to board their flight at JFK international airport due to a power outage. The oldest of the trio is a man named Cheever who is returning home for good, a young sergeant named T.K. and a woman named Colee who is a private.
At first I really did not want to see this film because I thought it was going to be another heavy handed, preachy film about the War in Iraq and would be scattered with sound bites from both right and left wingers. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to see it had nothing to do with the Iraq war itself. The film doesn’t point fingers at who is right or wrong in the never ending debate about the war in Iraq, nor does it speak about any of the issues concerning Iraq from prisoner abuse or exit strategies.
The film focuses instead on the lives that the soldiers are returning to and how the war changed them as well as their lives at home. Cheever comes home to find that his wife is not happy to see him and wants a divorce. T.K. was wounded in Iraq, taking shrapnel in crotch and is now having difficulty getting an erection; because of this, his manhood is threatened and is afraid to tell his fiancé. Colee is traveling to Vegas to return the guitar of her boyfriend (also a solider) who died while protecting her.
The film is a road trip movie but without the drunken horny frat boys, which is not something that is done often. The pacing is nice and slow; allowing the story to unfold on its own. There is a ncie bit off oddball humor in it as well as drama. Along the way, they meet some interesting characters who react to them differently. Some are assholes, some are indifferent and some are grateful to them for their service. During their trip across the country they each realize something about themselves and the lives they are returning to, however briefly. that shakes them to their core and forces them to reass the direction their lives are headed in. They trio start off their trip as an odd couple of sorts at first, but as the film progresses they pull together and help each other overcome some crushing difficulties they face when they each return home; difficulties they surely would not be able to overcome without each other.
A nicely done film overall.
The Lucky Ones
Moderator: MGM