Lucky

The Details:
Directed by: Steve Cuden
MPAA: Rated R for strong sexual content including aberrant behavior, violence and language.
Runtime: 83 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Certification: UK:18 / USA:R

The Review:
Lucky is kind of like the weird kid that always sat in the back of the class who was never interested in talking to anyone because he was too busy drawing macabre images in his creepy black sketchbook. He wasn't popular, not interested in being cool, and definitely wasn't the life of the party. But if you gave him a chance and spent some time with him, you would find out that well...yeah he is out of his mind, but he also has a lot of worthwhile things to say.

Millard Mudd is a down on his luck cartoon writer that's low on ideas, cash, and tolerable girlfriends. His house has more beer cans littered about than a frat house on the last day of school. Despite his obvious bad hygiene and lack of any susie-homemaker ability, he is a lovable guy & much like Homer Simpson in appearance. On the inside however is an entirely different beast. His mind races haphazardly through a maniacal whirlwind of self-loathing and self-righteousness. Does being a writer go hand-in-hand with being psychotic or what? I guess I'm lucky (ba-dum-chissh) this site is only a hobby of mine.


When he runs over a poor little dog on a drinking and driving expedition, things finally seem to take a turn for the better in Millard's life. His new companion, Lucky, has the ability to telepathically speak with Millard, inspiring him and giving him a motivational kick in the ass. Finally he is able to meet his deadlines and actually produce some quality work. On top of all that, he meets his dream woman, cleans up his act and is sitting pretty on cloud nine. But bliss doesn't last forever. Things quickly take a 180 degree turn for Millard and he heads into a personal hell even worse than the one he was in before.

That's the setup for Lucky. Any description beyond this point would get too descriptive and ruin the experience. That being said, the experience to be found in Lucky is certainly not for everyone. More than anything else, Lucky is a black comedy. It's not really suspenseful, it doesn't have any spectacular visuals, spooks, or gore. All it has is an intelligently crafted claustrophobic script takes place entirely within Millard's twisted mind. It's quite a feat to keep someone like me entertained with such an introverted story, but Lucky manages to pull it off. The fact that both director Steve Cuden and writer Stephen Sustarsic both have experience in the cartoon business obviously helps the movie succeed, with their first hand experience of Millard's career. Is this a look into some legitimate inner torment or is it a tongue-in-cheek self mockery? My guess is the latter, but I'm not entirely sure.

If you were the jock asshole that always gave that weird kid in the back of class a hard time, then stay as far away from Lucky as possible. On the other hand, if you gave that kid a chance, or if you were that kid, then chances are you're going to thoroughly enjoy Lucky...or at least smile a few times during its course.




MILLARD'S MIND: It's so twisted yet so enjoyable.
MILLARD'S DEMEANOR: You can't help but like this crazy fuck.
MILLARD'S MANIA: When things get worse it only gets better.