Lucky Them movie review & film summary (2014)
When her editor assigns her a piece on the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of influential, young rock star Matthew Smith, she’s reluctant for several reasons—the primary one being, she was romantically involved with Smith when he went missing. The general assumption has been that he flung himself off a steep and severe waterfall, but no one knows for sure; in the ensuing years, he’s achieved a cult status just shy of Kurt Cobain’s.
Oliver Platt stands out in the small, supporting role as Ellie’s longtime editor, Giles, but even in a few scenes, the two establish the believable give-and-take of people who’ve worked together too long and know each other too well. Their banter reflects an obvious comfort level, tinged with a healthy amount of tension. After lighting up a joint in his office (which is lined with posters for bands like The Afghan Whigs and Mudhoney, lending authenticity), Giles insists that the magazine needs this big cover story to bolster its readership, and Ellie needs this big cover story to bolster her career.
And so, with a handful of tips, she goes off in pursuit of her elusive, lost love. Tagging along is Charlie (Thomas Haden Church), an odd dude she went out on a couple of dates with years ago and reconnects with at a bar. A sudden dot-com millionaire and dilettante, Charlie now fancies himself a documentary filmmaker and agrees to finance Ellie’s investigation if he can turn her findings into a movie. (Spoiler alert, sorta: Their hunt leads to an inspired cameo and an unexpected moment of poignancy.)
This may sound like a total contrivance (and it is), but Haden Church is such a hoot and he and Collette have such an awesomely kooky chemistry, every second they’re together is a joy. They’re not quite opposites but they’re extremely different people who form an enjoyable, unlikely friendship while traveling around and searching for clues in a shiny, new RV. The clueless Charlie has a knack for saying the most inappropriate thing at every opportunity, and despite the consistently deadpan monotone of his delivery, Haden Church always keeps the character unpredictable. It’s some of his finest comic work.
