Good Luck Chuck (2007)

Director:

Mark Helfrich

Writers (WGA):

Josh Stolberg (screenplay)
Steve Glenn (short story)

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

He has to break his curse before she breaks his heart.

Plot:

In order to keep the woman of his dreams from falling for another guy, Charlie Logan has to break the curse that has made him wildly popular with single women: Sleep with Charlie once, and the next man you meet will be your true love. |

Plot Keywords:

Bride | Sex With Secretary | Boyfriend Girlfriend Relationship | Temptation | Car Trouble

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Connor Price	...	Young Charlie
Troy Gentile	...	Young Stu
Mackenzie Mowat	...	Birthday Girl
Sasha Pieterse	...	Goth Girl
Caroline Ford	...	Jennifer
Dane Cook	...	Charlie
Chelan Simmons	...	Carol
Dan Fogler	...	Stu
Natalie Morris	...	Natalie
Ellia English	...	Reba
Chang Tseng	...	Karaoke Singer
Michael Teigen	...	Wedding D.J.
Chiara Zanni	...	Bride
Ben Ayres	...	Groomsman
Carrie Fleming	...	Dirty Talker (as Carrie Anne Fleming)
Agam Darshi	...	Female Wedding Guest
Jessica Alba	...	Cam
Crystal Lowe	...	Cam's Wedding Friend
Steve Glenn	...	Carol's New Man
Téa Helfrich	...	Screaming Little Girl
Yasmine Vox	...	Pleasure
Lonny Ross	...	Joe
Tava Smiley	...	Woman in Car
Connor Dunn	...	Frisbee Kid
Norma Cowley	...	Frisbee Grandmother
Elizabeth Schnitzker	...	Ceiling Lover
Michelle Andrew	...	Red Haired Lover
Annie Wood	...	Lara
Eliza Bayne	...	Wheelbarrow Lover
Ed Welch	...	Dirty Talker's True Love
Tammy Morris	...	Contortionist Lover
Kari-Ann Wood	...	George W. Lover
Victoria Bidewell	...	Holy Lover
Chris Olech	...	Holy Lover's Boyfriend
Camille Atebe	...	Butch Cop
Jessica Olafson	...	Kitchen Counter Lover
Susan McLellan	...	Shower Lover
Zara Taylor	...	Magazine Lover
Simone Bailly	...	Matthew / Megan
Viviana Dal Cengio	...	Thankful Lover
Cassandra Sawtell	...	Girl in Penguin Habitat
Jodie Stewart	...	Eleanor Skepple
Ian Farthing	...	Eleanor's Boyfriend
Charlie Metzger	...	Singing Quartet
George Metzger	...	Singing Quartet
George Wakeham	...	Singing Quartet
Martin Lovick	...	Singing Quartet
Lindsay Maxwell	...	McTitty
Aaron Dudley	...	Not George
Liam James	...	Boy in Penguin Habitat
Kevin Crofton	...	Aquaworld Security
June B. Wilde	...	Desperate Woman
Jodelle Ferland	...	Lila (as Jodelle Micah Ferland)
Michelle Harrison	...	Anisha
Steve Bacic	...	Howard
Georgia Craig	...	Howard's Wife
Jody Racicot	...	Ticket Agent
Robert Kelly	...	Airport Security Guard
Emma Barker	...	Not Cam
Taayla Markell	...	Flight Attendant
Heather Doerksen	...	Woman on Plane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marcia Moulton	...	Woman in Waiting Room (uncredited)

Directed by
Mark Helfrich

Writing credits (WGA)
Josh Stolberg		(screenplay)
Steve Glenn		(short story)

Produced by
Tracey E. Edmonds	....	producer (as Tracey Edmonds)
Ogden Gavanski	....	executive producer
Steve Glenn	....	associate producer
Russell Hollander	....	executive producer
Cece Karz	....	co-producer
Mike Karz	....	producer
Barry Katz	....	producer
Michael Paseornek	....	executive producer
Karen Russell	....	co-producer
Brian Volk-Weiss	....	producer

Original Music by
Aaron Zigman

Cinematography by
Anthony B. Richmond		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Julia Wong

Casting by
Matthew Barry
Heike Brandstatter
Nancy Green-Keyes
Coreen Mayrs

Production Design by
Mark S. Freeborn

Art Direction by
Tony Wohlgemuth

Set Decoration by
K.J. Johnson

Costume Design by
Trish Keating

Makeup Department
Linda Bourgon	....	first assistant hair stylist: Edmonton (as Linda Bougon)
Bronwyn Dubrulle	....	assistant hair stylist (as Brownwyn J. Dubrulle)
Maya Hardinge	....	makeup artist: Ms. Alba
Tanya Howard	....	first assistant makeup artist
Michelle Johnson	....	hair stylist: Ms. Alba
Toby Lindala	....	special makeup effects artist
Shauna Magrath	....	assistant makeup artist
Julie McHaffie	....	key hair stylist
Heather McLellan	....	second assistant hair stylist
Teresa A. Meyer	....	first assistant makeup artist (as Teresa Meyers)
Jennifer Muntor	....	second assistant hair stylist
Cathy Nicoll	....	first assistant makeup artist: Edmonton
Tamar Ouziel	....	second assistant makeup artist
Janice Rhodes	....	second assistant makeup artist
Danna Rutherford	....	first assistant hair stylist
Margaret Yaworski	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Mark McCoy	....	post-production manager
Padi Mills	....	unit production manager
Jim O'Grady	....	unit production manager: Distant Location
Carl Pedregal	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Karin Behrenz	....	third assistant director
Ashley Bell	....	additional third assistant director
Richard Coleman	....	assistant director
Carol Fleming	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Ea Birkett	....	assistant property master
Nelson Dewey	....	storyboard artist
Eliza Hooker	....	set dresser
Nancy C. Lee	....	graphic designer
Tiara Motem	....	property buyer
Walter Ockley	....	set designer
David Paul Hewitt White	....	on-set dresser

Sound Department
Robert Althoff	....	sound re-recordist
Ron Bedrosian	....	adr mixer
John Bires	....	additional sound
Darren Brisker	....	production sound mixer
Weldon Brown	....	adr mixer
Julio Carmona	....	adr recordist
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Deschaine	....	adr mixer
Kathleen Edwards	....	additional adr assistant
Paul Flinchbaugh	....	digital assistant
Glynna Grimala	....	dialog & adr editor
Arda Gulesserian	....	additional sound
Adam Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kenneth L. Johnson	....	sound effects editor
Daryl Lathrop	....	adr recordist
Jon Lavender	....	boom operator
Duke Lim	....	additional sound
Jeff Malham	....	sound enginner: dubbing stage
Diane Marshall	....	foley artist
Tor McAfee Kingdon	....	additional adr recording mixer: New Mexico
Glenn T. Morgan	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Staubli	....	sound effects editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Mark P. Stoeckinger	....	sound re-recording mixer
John C. Stuver	....	dialog & adr editor
Orest Sushko	....	sound re-recording mixer
Graham Timmer	....	sound assistant
Tami Treadwell	....	adr recordist
Brett Voss	....	foley mixer
David Young	....	additional sound
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Bill Mills	....	special effects coordinator
John Reynolds	....	special effects best
Edward M. Sweet	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Jamie Baxter	....	digital artist
Patrick Clancey	....	digital opticals
Victor DiMichina	....	digital imaging supervisor
Donald Fly	....	general manager: CIS Hollywood
Danny Garcia	....	visual effects artist
Larry Gaynor	....	senior paint and roto: CIS Hollywood
Jim Gorman	....	digital compositor
Daniel D. Gregoire	....	executive: Halon
Heather Elisa Hill	....	visual effects project manager: CIS Hollywood
Austin Hiser	....	digital compositor: Pixel Magic
Brenda Ilic	....	visual effects coordinator
Joshua Jordan	....	compositor: CIS Hollywood
Bonnie Kanner	....	visual effects executive producer: Pixel Magic
Kevin Kipper	....	digital effects artist
J. Kitazaki	....	production assistant: CIS Hollywood
Gregory D. Liegey	....	visual effects supervisor: CIS Hollywood
Gregg Lukomski	....	visual effects supervisor: Halon Entertainment
Heather MacPhee	....	paint and rotoscope artist: CIS Hollywood
George Macri	....	visual effects producer: Pixel Magic
Lisa Maher	....	visual effects producer: CIS Hollywood
John R. McConnell	....	2D Compositor: Pixel Magic
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Roger Mocenigo	....	digital compositor: XY&Z
Brad Moylan	....	digital compositor: Pixel Magic
Patrick J. Rodriguez	....	concept/storyboard artist
Patrick J. Rodriguez	....	previz artist
Danita Slaughter	....	digital opticals editor
Neal Sopata	....	digital artist
Dan Tindell	....	pre-visualization artist
Mike Uguccioni	....	visual effects supervisor
Juan Carlos Vargas	....	digital effects artist (as Juan Vargas)
Matt Ashton	....	senior systems: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Brian Holmes	....	systems engineer: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Robert Minsk	....	systems: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)
Kyle Yamamoto	....	programmer: CIS Hollywood (uncredited)

Stunts
Simon Burnett	....	stunt double
Lauro Chartrand	....	stunt performer
Chad Sayn	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Melissa R. Stubbs	....	stunt coordinator
Marshall Virtue	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Adelson	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Steve Adelson	....	steadicam operator
Steven A. Adelson	....	camera operator
Steven A. Adelson	....	steadicam operator
Donnie Armstrong	....	company grip
Raimey Casiro	....	camera trainee
Herb DeWaal	....	key rigging grip
Shane Geddes	....	camera loader
Amie Gibbins	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Stephen J. McKnight	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Brad Oleksy	....	best boy grip
Brad Oleksy	....	key grip: second unit
Sean Oxenbury	....	rigging gaffer
Ian Seabrook	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
David Tickell	....	gaffer
Daniel Volonino	....	second assistant camera
Roger Wells	....	rigging best boy
Tony Whiteside	....	key grip
Martin Wilde	....	rigging gaffer
Kurt Zelmer	....	best boy rigging electric

Casting Department
Judy Cook	....	casting assistant
Sandra-Ken Freeman	....	extras casting
Kris Rurka	....	extras casting
Alicia Scott	....	extras casting assistant
Trica Thompson	....	casting assistant
Tiffany Mak	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luisa Dalmagro	....	costume buyer
Sondra Durksen	....	costume coordinator
Silke Guglielmo	....	costumer
Lynnette Kuchera	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Bryan Cantrall	....	on-line editor
Jenny Cho	....	post-production assistant
Beth Dewey	....	digital intermediate producer
Cortney Haile	....	post-production coordinator
Paul Klassen	....	assistant editor
Carmen Morrow	....	editorial production assistant
Robert E. Phillips	....	digital intermediate assistant producer: EFILM
Alain J. Romi	....	first assistant editor
Lisa Tutunjian	....	digital intermediate editor

Music Department
Jay Faires	....	music supervisor
Jay Faires	....	soundtrack producer
David Falzone	....	film music consultant
Tricia Holloway	....	additional music supervisor
Bryan Lawson	....	music editor
Michael Stern	....	music scoring mixer
Jeanette Surga	....	music editor
Jesse Voccia	....	electronic music programmer
Sam Zeines	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Bruce Scott	....	construction driver

Other crew
Hannah Rita Rose Amar	....	production assistant
Julie Ayers	....	assistant: Mike Karz
Brent Badger	....	production assistant
Bree Bailey	....	assistant: Michael Paseornek
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Jennifer M. Byrne	....	post payroll accountant
Cary Cooper	....	scorpio head technician
Dale Cornick	....	first accountant
Adris Debarge	....	assistant: Tracey Edmonds
Geoffrey Dodd	....	trainee assistant locations
E. Laura Dunkelgrun	....	assistant: Brian Volk-Weiss (as Laura Dunkelgrun)
Yon Elvira	....	supervisor: assets and productions publicity, Lionsgate
Wesley Emms	....	production assistant
Terri Garbutt	....	production coordinator
Elise Gaylie	....	assistant: Dane Cook
Josh Goldenberg	....	assistant: Mike Karz
Brandon Gonzales	....	assistant: cast
Matthew Granger	....	assistant: Mark Helfrich
Matthew Granger	....	video segment director
Michael Grigsby	....	production accountant
Frederick Heartline	....	production office assistant
Rosemary Lara	....	director of production: Lions Gate Films
Benjamin Luk	....	daily production assistant
Daniel MacArthur	....	assistant: Donna Sloan, Lions Gate Films
Dominic Main	....	assistant location manager
Robert M. Melnik	....	executive vice president of business affairs
Carol-Lynne Michaels	....	assistant: Mike Karz
Curtis A. Miller	....	director of production: Lions Gate Films
Nadine Moser	....	production assistant
Heidi Brook Myers	....	adr loop group
Tammy Nielsen	....	key production assistant
Tracy Noga	....	production assistant
Laura Obenaus	....	assistant: Ogden Gavanski
Hernany Perla	....	assistant: John Sacchi
Holly Pinder	....	key production assistant
Gina Powers	....	credit coordinator
Arden Rhine	....	production assistant
Michael Roberts	....	location manager
Darren Robertson	....	playback coordinator
Derrick Rodger	....	key production assistant
Kinnon Ross	....	key production assistant
Brian Sepanzyk	....	production assistant
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Randy Sexsmith	....	production assistant
Donna Sloan	....	executive vice president: Lions Gate Films
Christopher K. Stenberg	....	video/computer playback operator
David Tamkin	....	assistant location manager
Khene Tan	....	set location assistant
Larry Tardif	....	insert car operator
Bill Vigars	....	unit publicist
Barrie Wells	....	technocrane operator
June B. Wilde	....	dialogue coach
Steve Woodley	....	head animal trainer
Cody Klop	....	voice-over (uncredited)
Daniel Volonino	....	body double: Dan Folger (uncredited)

Thanks
Larry Abbott	....	in memory of
Matthew Granger	....	acknowledgment: karaoke tv and dental videos created by

Production Companies

• Karz Entertainment
• Lions Gate Films

Distributors

• Lionsgate (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Lions Gate Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• Pyramid (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc) (unrated version)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (unrated version)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Argentina) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Releasing (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Tornado Film (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (in association with)

Special Effects

• Pixel Magic (visual effects)
• XY & Z Visual Effects (visual effects)
• CIS Hollywood (visual effects)
• Halon Entertainment (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Hear Kitty  additional adr
• Lions Gate Records  soundtrack
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Video Split Productions  video assist equipment

Also Known As:

The Warm-Up Guy (USA) (original script title)
Charlie, les filles lui disent merci (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Novio por una noche (Argentina) (DVD title) (Peru) [es]
Õnnetooja Chuck (Estonia) [et]
Charlie viene prima di tuo marito (Italy) [it]
Elas Não Me Largam (Portugal) (literal title) [pt]
Enas gia oles (Greece) [el]
Glücksbringer, Der (Germany) [de]

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of strong sexual content including crude dialogue, nudity, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

Argentina:101 min | USA:101 min (unrated version) | USA:96 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Germany:16 | Norway:15 (re-rating after appeal) | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:R21 | France:Unrated (with warning) | Portugal:M/16 | Peru:18 | Australia:MA | Ireland:18 | Sweden:7 | Brazil:18 | Argentina:13 | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Taiwan:R-18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Karz Entertainment

Trivia:

The movie poster for this film is a take on a famous "Rolling Stone" magazine cover of Yoko Ono and John Lennon in which John was completely naked.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Cam's speech about penguin mating rituals pertains to Emperor Penguins. All the penguins in her habitat are Gentoo or Chinstrap penguins. Both which have mating rituals that involve nests of stones and shared incubation duties not the months-long endurance trial that Emperor males have to go through.

Quotes:

Cam Wexler: [about penguin behavior] When a male is sweet on a female, he searches the entire beach to find the perfect pebble to present to her. When he finally finds it, he waddles over and presents the stone by placing it at her feet. If she accepts, they'll be life-long mates.
Charlie: It's kind of like an engagement ring.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: The Worst of 2007" (2008)

Soundtrack:

You Might Think

Good luck surviving this one...

To make a good romantic flick, you must include a nice blend of humor, heart, romance (obviously), drama, and realism. Good Luck Chuck contains none of this. Packing in excessive nudity, pointless scenes, unnecessary crude humor, and predictable physical humor in a matter of 90-something minutes, this film flounders from the beginning, flops mostly throughout, and begins to reek towards the climax and the ending. Missed opportunities are much more common than laughs in this heap of disaster, which also includes a very generic musical score, wooden acting, and borrowed material. Perhaps the only good that comes from this is Jessica Alba, whose sexy and innocent charm keeps this movie afloat, albeit barely.

Good Luck Chuck is a totally different movie from the one advertised. The ads showed that this movie was going to be a charming romantic movie featuring plenty of Cook and plenty of Alba. Unfortunately, we get crude Dane Cook and very little Jessica Alba, and then plenty of preventable boobs. The story here revolves around Chuck (Dane Cook), a man who from a young age receives a hex that allows for him to get with women, but whenever they leave him the next man that female meets will be "The One." He takes advantage of this curse until he realizes that he will become love-deprived as long as the hex exists. In the middle of the crisis he meets a beautiful penguin expert Cam (Jessica Alba) whom instantly brings out the best in him.

Explaining why the film fails would require a lot more words than allowed, so let's just point out the major issues. Let's begin with the writing. It was a good idea turned sour with filler material, terrible jokes, and no heart. Our main character isn't exactly likable until he is on the brink of destruction over our lead female. Chuck's best friend is an even more disgustingly awful character in more ways than one. The lack of chemistry between everybody in the movie is a major concern, but between the two best friends is far beyond awful. The only consistently likable character once again is Cam. Attempting to reach the college crowd, we see plenty of cleavage, undressing, and Frat pack-style humor. Unfortunately, it fails to bring in the heart and good content that the recent Frat Pack movies contain. Unlike the adult comedies we've seen recently, this movie tries much too hard to earn the "R" rating, and it only takes away from its appeal. Has too much crudeness to be considered a date movie, even with its romantic plot entangled.

Dane Cook is overrated on stand-up, and not any better on-screen. Perhaps with good direction, we can see a decent romantic comedic lead out of him, but that is about it. His improvising fails, his line are sometimes delivered flat, and he just doesn't have the charm that we see in Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, or Seth Rogen. On the other hand, Jessica Alba pulls a nice performance as the beautiful yet hard-to-get Cam. A noteworthy oddity is that in the previews it shows that she is very clumsy, yet in the film it's a trait that becomes quickly forgotten. She handles herself well with the little material she is given, as she gives the movie its bit of energy that it desperately needs time and time again. Every other female in the movie was in it only because her jugs were a respectable size or in order to be ridiculed by everyone else.

The main issue of Good Luck Chuck is that it is totally unaware of what it is; it is unsure of what kind of movie it should be—then it winds up failing on every genre it tried imitating. Trailer shows it's a quirky romantic comedy—failure. Then in the movie we see an attempt to gross us out, an attempt to arose us with all the nudity, then tries to teach us about love by offering a bit of sentimental value—failure. Fires on all cylinders but miss every single time. It is extremely hard to take this movie seriously in terms of the lovey-dovey material when we see an entire montage of Dane Cook sleeping with different women or there is a moment dedicated to seeing a penguin eating his own feces.

First-time director Mark Helfrich should know better than to riddle this good idea with clichés, explored ideas, and Dane Cook material. Helfrich has been in the business for a very long time, and could have really spun this short story by Steve Glenn into a creative romantic comedy. Instead, it tries much too hard to be like Old School, Wedding Crashers, 40-Year-Old Virgin, and other R-comedies that have helmed a good amount of money. To be able to predict the next several scenes in the movie is never really a good sign either.

Bottom Line: A mess from start to finish, we once again see Dane Cook trying to transfer his success from the mic into the movie screens but with no success at all. It does not help that he has an untalented cast of writers and cameramen behind this trash, but Cook's inability to expand his brand of humor isn't exactly easy to work with either. Besides Alba, there are no admirable traits in this movie, and that even includes the grotesque amount of nudity—and the critic reviewing this is a male. It takes guts to destroy a film that has beautiful women in almost every scene, but Good Luck Chuck does exactly that. If it had stuck to what the trailer was presenting, there could have been some hope. Good Luck Chuck ends up being like the best friend in the movie: crude, offensive, unworthy, pointless, and just all-around an annoyance. Skip this pile of fish droppings.