Everything changed in the wink of an eye.
Just My Luck movie storyline. Two people discover just how true the old adage “lucky in life, unlucky in love” can be in this romantic comedy. Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) has always been the sort of girl fortune smiles upon — she’s pretty, she has a great job, she had good friends, guys fall over themselves to ask her out, and she never has trouble getting a cab. Jake (Chris Pine), on the other hand, is not nearly so lucky — he’s clumsy and accident prone, things never seem to go his way, and he’s just lost his job at a bowling alley. However, these two opposites meet one night at a ritzy masquerade ball, and Ashley and Jake exchange an impulsive kiss as two shooting stars cross in the sky.
Suddenly, they both find their luck taking a one hundred and eighty degree turn; Jake is befriended by a wealthy musician and suddenly finds himself successful and flush with cash, while Ashley loses her job and her apartment after a major misunderstanding with the police. While Jake’s luck with women has also taken a turn for the better, he’s become deeply infatuated with Ashley, and tries to help her turn her life back around as he struggles to win her heart. Just My Luck also stars Samaire Armstrong, Faizon Love, and Tovah Feldshuh.
Lindsay Lohan (“Mean Girls”) stars in this comedy about a lucky woman who accidentally swaps her good fortune for a stranger’s (Chris Pine) chronic misfortune. She plots against the guy to reverse her newly jinxed existence – until she finds herself falling for him.
About the Production
Ashley Albright (Lindsay Lohan) is the luckiest woman in the world, a person to whom all the good things in life have come far too easily. She can pick a lottery ticket at random and hit the jackpot. In New York, the world’s busiest city, Ashley never has to wait for a cab. And she has a terrific job as an account exec at a prestigious public relations firm.
Everything goes Ashley’s way. And now, she’s been given a great opportunity to advance her career: she is to plan a masquerade ball in downtown Manhattan for record mogul Damon Phillips (Faizon Love) and his company. Jake (Chris Pine), on the other hand, is a bad luck magnet. His skies are always raining; his pants are always on the verge of splitting at the seams. His job is cleaning toilets at a bowling alley. But even a steady bombardment of catastrophes doesn’t dim Jake’s dreams.
He thinks he may have his chance at the brass ring with his discovery of a rock band McFly. If Jake can keep his bad luck at bay for just one night, he’ll sneak into a masquerade ball and get McFly’s CD into the hands of music titan Damon Phillips.
On this night when dreams can be made or broken, fate brings Ashley and Jake together on the dance floor. Instantly taken with one another, they share an electrifyingly kiss – and with that one kiss, their luck switches places.
Suddenly, Ashley’s dress rips. Her heel breaks. Her good luck seems to have finally run out. Jake, in his rush to catch Phillips before he leaves, ends up saving the record mogul’s life and earning with that one simple twist of fate, the chance to make all his dreams come true.
As Ashley desperately races to regain the luck she blithely took for granted, she begins to see that it’s not so much having good luck but what you do with it that counts, and that her greatest chance of redemption lies with the guy who holds the key to her sudden change of fate.
Lindsay Lohan shot to worldwide attention after having grown up before the camera – from her feature film debut as precocious estranged siblings in “The Parent Trap” to the acclaimed comedies “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls.” JUST MY LUCK’s Ashley Albright represents the actress’ first adult lead. “It’s a great story about coming of age and I thought it would be the perfect part for me to transition into adult roles,” says Lohan.
“Lindsay has such a warm and likable screen presence that you can’t begrudge her character’s initial good fortune,” says co-screenwriter Amy B. Harris. “When Ashley is down on her luck and her life is literally falling down around her, Lindsay is able to bring a real sense of fun and broad physical comedy while still showing vulnerability.”
Director Donald Petrie felt Lohan’s performances in “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls” revealed a budding comedienne within her striking beauty. “Lindsay has a sparkling comedic talent,” he says. “Her ability to make physical comedy flow so naturally while also being funny and charming, makes her an absolute joy to have in front of the camera.”
Petrie has directed numerous actresses in breakout comedic roles, such as Kate Hudson in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality,” and Julia Roberts in “Mystic Pizza.” “I loved those movies,” says Lohan. “I love comedy and I really wanted to work with Donald on this film.”
Lohan found some of the physical comedy more challenging than she’d imagined. “You don’t realize how hard it can be until you’re actually there,” she says. “You’re reading the script and you say, `Oh, that’ll be so much fun to do,’ but then you perform the action or stunt, and that’s the hard part. But it’s fun when you can just let go and free yourself.”
Lohan’s on-screen leading man, Chris Pine, appreciated Petrie’s flair for physical comedy. “You know when Donald gives you direction that he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Pine plays Jake, who works at a rock-`n’-roll bowling alley while nurturing dreams of someday making it as a record producer. “Jake is a guy from a small town who finally made it to New York City and is swimming upstream with thunderstorms and lightning to make it,” Pine says.
“Jake is an unlucky schlub of a guy who, once it all turns around, you still believe will be dashing and charismatic without being arrogant about his good fortune,” adds co-producer Marjorie Shik.
Pine came to the filmmakers’ attention during video tests of young actors, from which he immediately stood out. “Donald saw something in Chris’s eyes that was about heart and warmth,” remembers producer Arnold Rifkin. “He approached the role with a wonderful, admirable spirit.”
“I think the saving grace of Jake is that he’s honest and optimistic,” Pine says. Jake’s relationship to 10-year-old Katy (Makenzie Vega, the young Nancy in “Sin City”) adds a dimension to his character that makes him instantly likable. “Jake has accepted his rather unfortunate plight in life,” says producer Rifkin, “being broke, looking after his young neighbor and cousin, Katy and helping her with her homework. He’s not angry. He has no concept of fate. He didn’t look for luck. He’s just assumed Murphy’s Law.”
“Katy’s his best friend,” says Pine. “In fact, she’s his only friend. Jake’s luck is so bad that he has no friends his age. Their relationship was easy for me to relate to because I have a wonderful sister I’m really close to who also happens to be named Katie.”
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Just My Luck (2006)
Directed by: Donald Petrie
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine, Samaire Armstrong, Bree Turner, Faizon Love, Makenzie Vega, Chris Carmack, Missy Pyle, Carlos Ponce, Tom Fletcher, Jaqueline Fleming
Screenplay by: Jonathan Bernstein, Marlene King
Production Design by: Ray Kluga
Cinematography by: Dean Semler
Film Editing by: Debra Neil-Fisher
Costume Design by: Gary Jones
Set Decoration by: Chuck Potter
Art Direction by: Dennis Bradford, Hinju Kim
Music by: Teddy Castellucci
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some brief sexual references.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: May 12, 2006
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