Just My Luck (2006 film)

Just My Luck is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, written by I. Marlene King and Amy B. Harris, and starring Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine, Faizon Love, Missi Pyle, and McFly. It tells the story of a girl who works in public relations and is the luckiest person in Manhattan while a boy is a janitor and would-be music producer who seems to have terrible luck until their good and bad luck is switched upon kissing each other which changes both their lives and leads them to meet each other once again.
Plot.
Ashley Albright works at Braden & Co. Public Relations and has an extremely fortunate life, experiencing recurring strokes of good fortune since childhood. In contrast, Jake Hardin experiences bad luck on a daily basis. While Ashley is popular and works with her best friends, Jake annoys most people he encounters. His friends are his Aunt Martha, who lives across the hall from his apartment, and her granddaughter Katy, who also has bad luck and whom Jake babysits. A custodian at a bowling alley, Jake is also the unpaid manager of a new band called McFly. For weeks, he tries to get the McFly demo CD to record label owner Damon Philips, hoping to get the band discovered and become a music producer.
At a meeting with Phillips, Ashley pitches a PR strategy that includes holding a masquerade ball charity fundraiser where his clients can showcase their talents by performing. Phillips loves the idea, pleasing Ashley's boss Peggy Braden, who gives Ashley her own office and puts her in charge of the ball. Meanwhile, Jake invites music producers to watch McFly perform but then accidentally causes the sound equipment to malfunction, driving them away.
Jake hears about Phillips' masquerade ball and gains entry by posing as a hired masked dancer. During the ball, a fortune teller tells Ashley her luck will change. Failing to get Phillips' attention, Jake notices Ashley and asks her to dance. The two masked people are drawn to each other and kiss, somehow switching their luck in the process. Jake sees Phillips leaving the ball and runs after him. As she waits for Jake's return, Ashley's heel breaks and her dress rips. Outside, Jake saves Phillips from being hit by a car. To repay Jake for saving his life, Phillips takes the McFly demo and invites the band to his studio. Jake, surprised by his good luck, looks for Ashley, but can't find her, not realizing she's been arrested because the neighbor she invited to be Peggy's date, Antonio, is a prostitute which also got Peggy arrested. Ashley is fired by Peggy who is bailed out and spends a night in jail.
The next day, Ashley's learns her apartment is condemned due to a flood and mold. She stays with her friends Dana and Maggie but experiences more bad luck. She tracks down the fortune teller, who suggests someone needed her luck more. Ashley realizes the stranger she kissed has her luck.
Phillips is impressed with McFly and signs the band with his label. Ashley tracks down every male dancer hired to work the ball, kissing each of them. After this fails to restore her good luck, a hungry and emotionally overwhelmed Ashley has a public breakdown at a diner where Jake is. Not recognizing her from the ball, Jake sympathizes with her frustration at constant bad luck and offers to find her a job. Ashley accepts Jake's former job at the bowling alley and develops a friendship with Jake. When Jake is worried McFly doesn't have enough material for an upcoming concert at the Hard Rock Cafe, Ashley introduces him to Maggie, who is a singer/songwriter. Impressed, Jake decides to use her song.
During a recording session, Ashley overhears Jake mention that he's been lucky ever since the masquerade ball. Realizing he was the masked dancer, she kisses him and leaves, discovering her luck is back. She runs into Peggy, who is now engaged to Antonio and offers to rehire Ashley as the Vice President of Braden & Co. if she helps with a meeting that very night. Ashley then learns Maggie's song will no longer be performed at the concert that same night. Looking at a mirror she broke earlier, Ashley reflects on the cost of her good luck. Deciding to forego Peggy's rehiring offer, she goes to the concert where Jake and the band are experiencing bad luck and may have to cancel the concert. Ashley kisses Jake and circumstances change, leading to a successful concert where Maggie's song is performed. Ashley realizes she's in love with Jake but doesn't wish to give him bad luck again. She decides to leave and live with her parents for a while.
Jake finds Ashley at Grand Central Station, realizing she is the woman from the ball. Since Jake used good luck to help others, Ashley argues she doesn't want to take it away. Jake remarks Ashley experienced good things even when she had bad luck and says he is willing to experience bad luck again if they are together. They kiss, switching their good and bad luck back and forth. Katy arrives and they simultaneously kiss her on each cheek, causing another luck transfer. Katy then wins a $25 lottery ticket. Jake and Ashley walk hand-in-hand, wondering if they will get used to living without luck and debating on if karma is real.
Production.
Filming.
Principal photography of interior scenes (such as Ashley's apartment and Jake's apartment) took place in New Orleans, Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina hit the area. In March 2005, exterior scenes were shot in New York City. NYC locations included: the apartment building 43 Fifth Avenue (originally constructed in 1905 by architect Henry Andersen), which has been the home to many celebrities including actor Julia Roberts, actor Holly Hunter, novelist Dawn Powell, and screenwriter Noah Baumbach; Christopher Park in Greenwich Village (where Jake offers Ashley a job); the New York Palace Hotel (455 Madison Avenue, where the masquerade ball takes place); Central Park; Rivera Cafe (225 West 4th Street, where Ashley experiences a public outburst); and the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, where McFly's concert is supposed to take place. Filming also involved exterior and interior shooting at Grand Central Terminal for the movie's final scene.
During filming, Lohan sprained her ankle, making it difficult to walk for a time and preventing her from wearing heels.
Reception.
The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 14% rating based on 111 reviews with the critics' consensus: ""Just My Luck" asks little of its leads and less of its audience, adding up to a middling teen rom-com that sorely lacks sparks." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Lohan earned a Razzie Award nomination as Worst Actress for her performance in the film.
Box office.
"Just My Luck" opened at #4 at the North American box office with $5,692,285 in its opening weekend, May 12, 2006. In the US, it grossed $17,326,650. The film grossed $38 million worldwide.
Soundtrack.
The album is made up partly of songs from McFly's first two albums, "Room on the 3rd Floor" and "Wonderland", with the exception of the brand new track "Just My Luck", which was recorded especially for the film. Though released as the film's soundtrack, a selection of the songs featured on the album were not in the film. Reworked versions of "5 Colours in Her Hair", "I've Got You" and "Unsaid Things", as well as the censored Single version of "I Wanna Hold You" appear on the album instead of the original versions. The European version of the album slightly muddles up the track listing, and adds the hidden track "Get Over You" in the pre-gap.