Lucky Day

I have read some of Mary Higgins Clark's books and at best they are mediocre to start with. It would be unimaginable to mention her name in the same breath as the likes of classic mystery authors such as Christie or Le Carre. Having said that, this film really takes the biscuit. It is filmed like an Australian/American soap opera with the 'actors' responding to anything that happens or is said to them with a gasp, a sigh and a long look into the distance before delivering a dry and unbelievable reply. The 'star' is the same actress that rose to a short lived part in the UK soap opera Emmerdale...and she was actually more believable in that. I warn you... if you have some paint to watch dry... do that. My girlfriend described it as 'Days of our lives', with less talent than the cast of Friends.

No one had to tell me that this was a product of Canadian producer Sonny Jacobson. He's used that weird suspense-type music a million times.

The TV film versions of Mary Higgins Clark's novels aren't the best. They're usually not well directed with medium production values and blah acting. Also they move like molasses.

That being said, being a mystery buff, I never miss one! This one, Lucky Day, stars Amanda Donohue as an actress, Nora Barkin, who is determined to find out what happened to a close friend, an older man named Bill. He disappears one night en route to her place after possibly winning money in the lottery. She appeals to a police detective (Tony LoBianco) for help. Though he's somewhat dismissive, there's something about her resolve that makes him think there might be something to the disappearance. He's right.

Donohue, who's obviously older than the man playing her husband, German actor Gregor Törzs, seems out of place here somehow. And you can't believe for one minute that her husband cared about this lost friend, even though we hear over and over that the couple was all Bill had. Donohue isn't photographed well. She and Guylaine St-Onge, who plays Sandra, probably weigh 75 pounds each. I've never seen such thin people. That's just a side note, I couldn't help noticing it. Also, though they're supposed to be in New York City, they're obviously not.

Donohue does a good job, but she's fighting slow direction, mediocre dialogue and characters that aren't really fleshed out. Only Nora and friend Bill are given any depth. As far as Nora's marriage, they don't seem like they belong together.

Somehow because of the decent stories, these films come off as mildly entertaining. It's a case of the whole being better than the sum of its parts.

This is a pretty good tv-movie. It had a good plot with some un-expecting twists. The acting is decent only the directing is a bit lame and the story had a bit more potential. But for a tv movie it's good, so watch it when it comes by on television.

Lucky Day comes across as your standard detective mystery. They show a murder, an amateur sleuth and conveniently point the finger at a likely suspect. Ultimately it turns out that the person you least expect is the guilty party because the movie gave them close to no screen time. Lucky Day manages to keep the suspense and intrigue going till the end. I enjoyed the simplicity of this film, no bells and whistles. We get a cut and dried story. It is interesting and sticks to the facts to drive the whole story. The performances are average at best and while it is not super convincing, it gets the job done. I enjoyed it. If you are after a simple and easy to watch mystery then this will be good.

I'm not the kind of person who watches TV a lot, but I did incidentally caught this film two times on TV. The second time I saw it about two years have passed since my first viewing, but interestingly enough I recognized the film and even remembered the story and characters, which means the whole thing had something memorable.

I wouldn't like to give anything away not even the first minute of it, but basically if you catch this on TV, what you need to expect from this is a good murder mystery story, with a female protagonist, good characters, filled with occasional suspense. Don't expect originality though, and complicated puzzles, it's more of a typical murder mystery, but a good one.

If you want to release stress after a long and hard day at work, and this is on TV, then it's on for you.