Luck

Grade: C

The opening sequences of Luck showed so much charm and promise that I settled back in anticipation of the delightful treat I thought I was in for. We meet 18-year-old Samantha (Sam) Greenfield, who has spent her life bouncing around through numerous orphanages and foster homes, having never found a “forever family.” She has just aged out of the home, and is living alone for the first time, in a modest apartment. She is notorious for her perpetual bad luck. Mostly, she’s a big klutz – frequently tripping, slipping, breaking things, making messes, and having difficulty getting a toaster to do what she wants. But she is selfless, has a good heart, shows up for work and does her best.

One evening, she finds a black cat with a Scottish accent who has what’s called a lucky penny. She wants to steal it for her young friend Hazel, from the home, who is on the brink of potentially having a forever family. Sam follows Bob the cat around town, and accidentally finds herself in the Land of Luck. It reminded me of the factory in Monsters Inc, or the Land of the Dead in Coco. And unfortunately, this is where Luck loses its narrative luster and descends into obligatory action – devoid of feeling, and overly elaborate. This is a busy plot. An overwhelming amount of details are thrown at us about what she needs to do to get a lucky penny and return to her world, and we almost need a flow chart to keep it all straight. The characters can barely make sense of it themselves, as – time and time again – they stand around explaining the exhausting steps needed to get their solution.

Luck, streamable on Apple TV, is from Skydance Animation – and produced by John Lasseter, formerly with Pixar until he was ousted in 2017 over allegations of inappropriate behavior. The very young audience members will likely enjoy the action, and the voluminous and intricate set pieces in the Land of Luck. I was more interested in the expository story, like what makes Sam tick? How does she feel about her upbringing in so many homes, having never found her forever family? What was her life like? Other than Hazel, who were her other friends, and how did they feel about their situation? Did she have any friends her age? There’s lots of surface here that isn’t scratched.

Our heroine is ably voiced by Eva Noblezada, who starred as Kim in Miss Saigon for the performance that was filmed for the 25th anniversary movie. Simon Pegg is Bob the black cat. Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg are intimidating authority figures in the Land of Luck. Lil Rel Howery gets to steal a couple of scenes as Sam’s boss in the real world. Flula Borg has some fun stuff as a flamboyant German unicorn. And Cliff Claven himself, John Ratzenberger – a staple of Pixar and many animated films – turns up here as a bartender in one of the Bad Luck floors.

I didn’t laugh or smile much. Most of the punchlines and lessons are predictable; we arrive at them long before they finally occur to the characters. As you would expect, the color green is extremely prevalent throughout the movie, to make sure we get it. Just when there begins to be glimpses of a sweet, poignant moment or message, it gets undercut by the film’s wacky complicated plot mechanics, and the flower is squashed before it can bloom. Luck is disappointing and lukewarm.

Grade: C