New Dane Cook film gets unlucky

Ok, so here's the deal. If you like romantic comedies, don't read this review. If you like the whole "attractive people who have perfect jobs and friends and lives but just can't seem to catch a break in love until the most unexpected person comes along" thing; if you like lots and lots of unnecessary shots of boobs then, please, stop reading now, because I'm about to say some things about this movie that you might not want to hear.

Still reading? Good for you. Let me give you a quick plot summary. In Good Luck Chuck, Dane Cook is a dentist (yeah, I couldn't believe it either) named Charlie who can't tell any girl he loves her. As a result, he is always dumped. Enter Cam (Jessica Alba): the clumsy, yet lovable girl of Charlie's dreams, and after a brief courtship they fall head over heels in love. But wait! There's more! Charlie is cursed to be the last guy before "the one." Yeah, after he sleeps with a woman, they immediately meet their soul mate. Hilarity ensues, I'm sure.

Let's start with the acting… Oh sorry, I forgot the quotes, "acting." Like I said, Dane Cook plays a dentist, which is about as realistic as Ron Jeremy playing Saint Peter. He's good for a few chuckles per usual. He's good at delivering the punch lines… that's his job after all, but he's just not believable as anything more than an actor playing a role ­- a bad role by the way. Dane, you're a stand up comedian, not an actor. Sure, you pulled it off in Waiting, but let's not push it.

And how about Jessica Alba? I just want to express one thing. Falling down is an art. It's like dancing or skydiving. Either you're really good at it, or you're really terrible at it. Ms. Alba, you are terrible at it. How presumptuous of you to think that you can simply walk into a light post and fall over with a sweet little "tee hee" and think you have fooled anyone. Shame on you.

Then there are the good actors who have reduced themselves to crappy one-joke characters. Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury), a Tony Award-winning actor, is your typical fat wingman. He's the best friend who also happens to be a plastic surgeon who is (gasp) only interested in women for their looks. There's a shocking, unexpected character development.

Then there's the writing, or lack thereof. This movie is pretty much a collection of blatant stereotypes and overdone shticks. There's a Japanese guy singing bad karaoke; a mean, fat girl that no one wants to date; people getting hit in the balls; people humping fruit; people getting bitten in the balls by penguins (seriously). It goes on and on.

Of course, maybe I'm being a touch harsh. There were parts that really made me laugh. Nothing groundbreaking, but I actually found myself chuckling at parts. Unfortunately, the laughs were almost always followed with some inane comment about big boobs, or some bit of information about penguins, which made me forget almost instantly what I was laughing about.