Good Luck

A very funny, laugh-out-loud movie. I checked Vincent D'Onofrio's credits after seeing this movie and realize I have seen him so many times in very good roles but this film really showcased his comedic talent. Good Luck told a good story about two totally different guys who really aren't so different after all. They captured the essence of how to give meaning back to your life, when you don't think things are going the way you thought they would. Don't miss this - it's one of the good ones out there! 3 out of 4.

Recently I found this movie at the video store and being a Vincent D'Onofrio fan I decided to give it a chance. I found the movie very entertaining. The beginning is a little cheesy but I think it gets going fairly quickly. There was a scene or two that could have been chucked out the window. I thought Lem and Olee were two good characters and both actors portrait was excellent. A better job could have been made at hiding mikes and editing scenes. However, Vincent D'Onofrio was terrific and I also liked farmer John who played Wojo on Barney Miller.

Two disabled create an odd couple formed by a previous football star named Ole(Vincent D'Onofrio: Law and order)who was blinded in a sport accident and a paraplegic named Bern(Gregory Hines:Cotton club) wheelchair bounded.Both cripples decide participate in a popular rafting competition called ¨Gold City Regatta¨ on Oregon's Rogue River(The event is actually celebrated in Portland,Oregon).In the beginning the head-strong Ole refuses but is early convinced by Bern to compete in the contest defying all those who think that two handicapped can drive a raft along the river.

This independent film with good intentions mingles humorous dialogue with chuckles,giggles and drama-comedy ,besides of numerous sex jokes and profanities .This comedy and sometimes drama is quite grossed but has its good moments here and there.The film relies heavily on the continuous relationship between two friends but is plenty of pranks and sexual and scatological references like the continuous talking lustfully by the opposite sex and the description of bowel moment.The highlights film are the train scenes,the exciting football competition between OLe and Bern against the villagers and of course the final rafting with the sensational participation of our starring. Terrific performance by the protagonists, engaging acting by Gregory Hines(He was an accomplished tap dancer,born 1946, died 2003 by liver cancer)as an obstinate paralytic and top notch Vincent D'Onofrio as a stubborn blind.Plus appear as secondaries Max Gail,Sara Trigger and uncredited James Earl Jones as a sports commentator on the start film.The flick is written by Comfort with a feel-good script and direction by Richard Labrie is amateurish although sometimes gets depth, sensitivity and feeling good in its handling about blindness and paraplegia matter.This is his only film,he's usually editor for Playboy movies.Rating : Acceptable and entertaining with marvellous performance by the two stars.

Ole is a blind ex-NFL star. Bern is a crippled dentist who tutored Ole in math. And together, they're going to go white water rafting. That's right. It sounds ridiculous as hell, but it's a hysterically funny movie.

How this didn't get wide release, i'll never know. If they had cut out the brief nudity in the beginning, which doesn't seem to jive with the rest of the film, this probably would have brought in families with young children. Compare this to the drek that passes as comedy in Hollywood, and it really doesn't make much sense. Hines and D'Onofrio work better together than most duos i've ever seen.

GOOD LUCK is an entertaining, frequently very funny, and extremely well-acted film. Unfortunately, it can't quite make up its mind whether it wants to be a realistic depiction of the problems facing the disabled or a feel good film. The strong language and sexual situations make it the former--some of the more unrealistically upbeat scenes the latter. Still, it's a lot better than many films that get more publicity. And the acting is superb. Max Gail is wonderful in a small but crucial part. The late Gregory Hines is excellent, although there's something disconcerting about such a great dancer confined to a wheelchair (although that may have been the point of his casting). And look here--Vincent D'Onofrio in what probably is the most conventional starring role of his career. And he looks terrific, right from the film's start, when he's speeding along in a sports car. He's believable as a football star, and, as always, a terrific actor.

Can I recommend it? Definitely for D'Onofrio and Hines fans. It would also be a nice antidote to the usual sports film. It certainly deserves to be better known.

Wardicus