The Lucky Ones (2008)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Neil Burger

Writers (WGA):

Neil Burger (written by) &
Dirk Wittenborn (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (Canada)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

Sometimes losing your way home means finding yourself

Plot:

The story revolves around three soldiers -- Colee, TK and Cheever -- who return from the Iraq War after...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Road Trip | College Tuition | Stranded | Iraq War

Cast

Tim Robbins	...	Fred Cheaver
Rachel McAdams	...	Colee Dunn
Michael Peña	...	T.K. Poole
Molly Hagan	...	Pat Cheaver
Mark L. Young	...	Scott Cheaver
Howard Platt	...	Stan Tilson
Arden Myrin	...	Barbara Tilson
Coby Goss	...	Peter Tilson (as Coburn Goss)
John Heard	...	Bob
Jennifer Joan Taylor	...	Bob's Wife
Katherine LaNasa	...	Janet
Leo Ford	...	Janet's husband
Susan Yeagley	...	Kendra
Emily Swallow	...	Brandi
John Diehl	...	Tom Klinger

Also Known As:

The Return (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

Canada:113 min | USA:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44062) | Canada:18A | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-7

Filming Locations:

Alsip, Illinois, USA

Company:

Overnight

Trivia:

Colee talks of how T.K. and his fiancée should experiment sexually, 'by having another man with her while T.K. watches'. Later on in the film, Cheaver (accidentally) puts himself in exactly that position (having sex with a woman just as her husband enters the room).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Cheaver could not use his $20,000 re-enlistment bonus for his son's tuition. The bonus would be given in increments and would be heavily taxed. He would not get more than $8,000 of that initially.

Quotes:

Fred Cheaver: I'm going to go rent a car before there's none left.

Movie Connections:

References Titanic (1997)

Soundtrack:

Done Deal

Excellent

This is excellent. This movie is a great example of how those in the military take care on one another. After my five years of military service as a Marine, I have found no other organization that works so well. This was a great example of how we (those in the military) get it done each and every day. It also illustrates that in the military we learn to work with both men and women and all colors. It is a simple matter of what is required to get the job done. Thanks for a good example of life in and out of the military.

The characters were true to form and based on my experience showed the way it really is as one tries to adapt and adjust to live after returning from a deployment. It was so smart to include a woman and to write the lines in such a way to show that she was an equal. While only a newbie to the military, she demonstrated life experiences and knowledge that helped the more senior members of the cast. A great job of balancing and showing that life experiences help those in the military deal with situations.

I do not think I can say enough how much I enjoyed watching this movie and experiences the life of military members through the characters in this film. Again, great job!