Good Luck Chuck

Comedian-turned-actor Dane Cook is victimized by terrible scripting and limp direction in this smarmy sex comedy, in which he plays the title character—a successful dentist whose primary appeal to the ladies reportedly stems from a childhood hex placed on him by a spurned goth girl: any woman who sleeps with him will find true love shortly thereafter (elsewhere). This makes Chuck the king of one-night stands but doesn't do much for his own (long-term) love life. Enter Cam (Jessica Alba), the pratfall-prone beauty who quickly becomes his dream girl. If Chuck takes things too far, of course, he risks losing her—but can he break the spell before it's too late? There might have been a cute movie here somewhere, but the screenwriters and rookie director Mark Helfrich seem intent on going below the belt for most of their gags. As usual, the winsome Alba looks great, but she offers scant support to Cook, whose increasingly frantic attempts to wring warmth and humor out of the smutty script smack of desperation. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include an audio commentary (with star Dane Cook, director Mark Helfrich, producer Mike Karz, and writer Josh Stolberg), four behind-the-scenes featurettes (18 min. total), eight minutes of adlib segments, a six-minute gag reel, three deleted/alternate scenes (3 min.), a 16-clip interactive “Sex Matrix: Fierce Thrusting,” and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (E. Hulse)