Given my love for actress Jessica Alba it only make sense that I take a few minutes to write about a delight in my life, entitled Good Luck Chuck.  This film has been out for almost a year now on the Blu-ray format and I am sure all my educated readers have already read their fair share of reviews on this title.  If you are in the majority right now you are probably already scratching your head at the high scores I have given to Good Luck Chuck.  If you have not seen this movie, then you are probably pondering is it really as good as he says it is?  Or you may be thinking is this reviewer so infatuated with the looks of Jessica Alba that he has completely gone against the grain of society in popular opinion?  Let me be the first to tell you there is more than meets the eye in this film, a phrase I am sure all you fan boys are quite familiar with.  I have to compare this movie directly with the likes of Bad Santa.  Here you have two very raunchy films at times, but strip away the exterior and devote yourself to the feature, and what you really have on the interior is a film warm in heart.  I know countless people who have given up midway through Bad Santa never even witnessing the lead character’s redeeming and loving qualities.  What appears rude, crude and vulgar on the surface proves to have a heart tugging, caring and warm interior.  A little patience goes a long way I always say.  Please give me a few moments of your time to further dissect Good Luck Chuck and prove there really is more to this film than just leading lady on the cover art.  Let’s begin, shall we?

Our story begins in 1985 where young Charlie Logan (Connor Price) enters a closet with a Goth girl named Anisha, while playing Seven Minutes in Heaven at a friend’s party.  Anisha’s aggressive behavior terrifies Charlie, who chooses to have no contact whatsoever with her.  Taken aback by Chuck’s brash resistance Anisha places a curse on him.  The curse placed upon Charlie entails that every woman he sleeps with will break up with him and then find her true love next, making him forever unhappy.  That’s pretty heavy stuff for a slapstick comedy thus far.

Fast forward twenty-two years later and we find Charlie (Dane Cook) running his own dentist practice in the same building as his best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), a plastic surgeon.  We will talk a bit later about the comedic genius of Dan Fogler.  Due to the curse, Charlie is unable to tell women he loves them because as soon as he does they breakup with him and they go on to find their true love.  On the flip side, this is also the case if Charlie does not tell them that he loves them too.  As you can see the curse clearly works on both sides of the court.  At one fateful wedding, obviously one of Charlie’s ex-flames, he is donned the name “Good Luck Chuck,” meaning every woman that sleeps with Charlie eventually goes on to find their soul mate and true happiness.  I guess for many guys this would probably be the American Dream for them as they will always have a line of women waiting to sleep with them, but in Charlie’s case he feels trapped because of the one woman he meets at this fateful wedding…enter Cam Wexler (Jessica Alba).  Cam, who runs a penguin habitat, is friendly and out going, but is cursed with a very bad case of clumsiness.  Cam, full aware of Charlie’s reputation, refuses his repeated and advances and invitations for dinner.

Despite the alleged rumors regarding Charlie’s sex life he is quite the catch, a young medical professional with an established dental practice, and it won’t be long until Cam finally breaks down and accepts his invitation to have dinner.  This is where the real conundrum begins.  How can Charlie be happy and loving to Cam when he has this curse to contend with that has not been proven wrong in the past twenty-years of his life?  This ultimately leads to zany, erratic and jealous behaviors by Charlie that results in the eventual loss of Cam.  Charlie ends up learning the hardest lesson that life sometimes teaches us.  Sometimes when you love something you have to let it go free.  When Charlie realizes this he is thrust into a world of misery and hurt knowing his one true love will find happiness with someone else.  Does our story stop there?  Of course it does not, but you need to invest in this movie to truly appreciate what a comedic and romantic gem this one is.  The payoff is well worth the price of admission in addition to a ream of gut busting laughs to be had along the way.  This my friends is the warm heart felt story of Good Luck Chuck, a movie that should not be judged solely by the ranting of critics who pan it for its vulgar comedic nature, but for blossoming love story it really is.

So let’s get back to talking about the comedic genius of Dan Fogler.  Having never seen the comedy of Dane Cook, I really do believe Good Luck Chuck would have flopped on the comedy front had it not been for the hilarious efforts put forth by Mr. Fogler.  Dan Fogler is the perfect comedic sidekick.  His actions, non-verbal cues and the comedic lines he delivered had the wife and I bursting out in tears, even after repeat viewings.  Let me expand on that last point real briefly.  Good Luck Chuck, much like the recent Judd Apatow movies, only gets better with repeat viewings.  You pick up on all the little one-liners that you missed in the initial viewings.  Movies like this appeal to me the most as it gives me added reason and excitement when it comes to the prospect of multiple viewings.  While it is not an Oscar deserving film by any stretch, it has become quite the guilty pleasure of mine.  I definitely got my money’s worth out the Blu-ray purchase of Good Luck Chuck, and I still am.

Video

Lionsgate brings Good Luck Chuck to the Blu-ray format with a 1080P AVC MPEG-4 video transfer presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.  This is a very clean and pristine print with plenty of three-dimensional pop to behold.  The colors remain vivid throughout the feature like a lucid dream.  The black levels remain solid with no nuisances of grain, even in the darkest of scenes.  Perhaps, one of the most striking features of the video presentation is in the department of fine details.  For the most part, fine detail is prominent throughout the film, most notably in the face of Dane Cook.  Arguably, this may be where Hi-Definition purists may not want such striking detail as we can clearly see, throughout the film, the damage done to actor Dane Cook’s face from adolescent acne scars.  Unfortunately, due to the fine details I can even find room to complain about Jessica Alba too.  Oh no!  What did he say?  Jessica’s facial complexion is very oily throughout.  I remember sharing this insight with a co-worker when asked how I liked my initial viewing of the Good Luck Chuck Blu-ray release.  They thought this was hysterical, as they never heard anyone complain about Jessica Alba’s appearance before, but wait…there’s more.  Wait until you see the Hi-Definition appearance of Eleanor Skepple (Jodie Stewart).  I am not trying to be rude, but even I know I could never eat across the table from that.  Results like these make it very hard to complain because this is what the 1080P viewing audience wants…right?  Don’t we want the ability to see every imperfection, no matter how small, in the actors we love and adore?  Well, I think you get the point I am trying to drive home here.  The fine detail is a force to be reckoned with here, but that is not to say it can’t be done.  Notice I did not give the video a perfect score.  There are reasons for this.  We have a couple instances where heavy daylight scenes wreak havoc by exaggerating flesh tones and whites.  This problem also causes a handful of soft/fuzzy appearing shots.  All in all, the video is not perfect here, but for a romantic comedy you really cannot ask for more.

Audio

Lionsgate steps up and delivers an uncompressed PCM 7.1 surround track.  Wow!  A 7.1 surround audio track for a comedy film?  Maybe this going a bit overboard here, but don’t you want to hear all the little gross noises and nuisances that Good Luck Chuck has to offer in full High-Definition audio?  This audio track works nice in delivering a solid comedic presentation.  Like most comedy films, the rear channels are not utilized quite enough as they should, but the audio engineers get jiggy with a perfect dialogue track.  The dialogue mix is perfect like a fresh hot batch of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls out of the oven, as I never once had to strain to hear all the comedic lines I pick up on after repeat viewings.  The soundtrack really gets the feature cruising along with a quick pace at times, especially during the montage scenes.  What montage scenes?  Well you will just have to watch and find out.  All in all, I really believe this sound track serves it purpose for what it is originally crafted to accomplish…that is to make us laugh!

Special Features

On the surface Good Luck Chuck appears to have a wealthy amount of special features, but when examined closely we find there is little time to invest in here.  Sadly enough, the majority of the special features are presented only in Standard-Definition.  So without further ado below is a list of the special features you can expect to see on the Lionsgate Blu-ray release of Good Luck Chuck.

• Audio Commentary – The included audio commentary here contains participants Dane Cook, director Mark Helfrich, producer Mike Karz and screenwriter Josh Stolberg.
• Polymastia (SD) – This 5-minute featurette explores the secret of the triple-breasted woman in the movie and how her third breast was created using CGI.
• All About Penguins (SD) – A group of penguin experts sit down for 8-minutes to discuss the popularity of penguins in modern movies.
• Frank the Penguin Actor (SD) – This is a 3-minute documentary on Frank, the star penguin of the movie.
• Kama Sutra (SD) – This is a 3-minute look that explains how the sex montage came from an idea taken off of a poster for a 1970′s porn film.
• There are a total of seven featurettes, which include the four previously mentioned above.  The remaining three featurettes are entitled Eleanor Skepple, Good Luck Chuckles and Real-Life Chuck.
• High-Definition Sex Matrix (HD) – This is the only special feature that is presented in High-Definition and it includes excerpts from each position in the sex montage.
• Ad Libs (SD) – This is basically a glorified 8-minute outtakes featurette.
• Deleted Scenes / Extended Scenes / Alternate Scenes (SD) – This basically just what the title describes giving us a few deleted scenes, extended scenes and an alternate ending.
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) – The only other High-Definition part of the special features is the inclusion of trailers for Employee of the Month, Condemned, Crank and Lord of War.
• Personalized Bookmarks – This feature is pretty self-explanatory.
• Blu-Line Slider – The Blu-Line Slider allows you to jump to any scene instantly.  Isn’t this what chapters are for?

Final Thoughts

Good Luck Chuck is not going to appeal to the masses.  It is not going to win any awards or garner any special recognition.  It is what it is.  Don’t you hate that saying?  I hate that saying.  Good Luck Chuck is a guilty pleasure of mine, a comedy film I am proud to include in my top ten list of all-time comedies.  I know the majority of the people will disagree with that last statement, but I have the right to reserve judgment and ultimately make the call here.  If you are an Alba or a Dane Cook fan, then picking this Blu-ray up should happen without question, if it has not already.  If you want a little added comedic bonus, or maybe even know who Dan Fogler is, then I highly recommend this one.  If you just want eye candy, and I am not talking about Dane Cook’s acne scars or Eleanor Skepple, then you will find that here with the inclusion of Jessica Alba in the cast.  Underneath its raunchy exterior, Good Luck Chuck is a warm heart-felt comedy that is sure to win you over and will be well deserving of multiple viewings.  Please don’t forget about our furry friends, the penguins, who sometimes steal the show as well.  All in all, I highly recommend a purchase of Good Luck Chuck on Blu-ray (like what other format would you buy it on…duh) to add as a welcome addition to your already growing comedy collection.  I hope you enjoyed this review and movie as much as I truly enjoyed writing it and watching this film.

I hope you enjoyed my review of Lionsgate’s Good Luck Chuck Blu-ray release.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.  I look forward to receiving feedback from my readers.

Good Luck Chuck was released on Blu-ray January 15, 2008.  If you like what you read in the review above, then please show your support for our site by clicking the shopping cart link below to order and save with Amazon’s Everyday Lowest Price Guarantee.  Thanks!