Tuesday
12Aug2008
Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams Come Home in 'The Lucky Ones'
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 12:10AM 
I bet the last thing you expected to see was
Tim Robbins playing a sympathetic character who
also happens to be a career soldier. Of course, there's always the chance that
you read more than the headlines and you realize that aside from being
politically outspoken, Robbins and his partner Susan Sarandon have supported the
American troops since the war(s) began, despite their immediate and constant
opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
He's cast opposite
Michael Peña
and the lovely
Rachel McAdams in
The Lucky Ones, about three soldiers on leave
who meet on a cancelled flight and then go all Planes, Trains & Automobiles
in order to get to their various destinations. From the trailer, it looks like
it's less a comedy and more a movie that recognizes how difficult dealing with
circumstances like returning home from active duty is, and that injecting levity
into a more serious story is sometimes the best way to go.
The title, we can presume, refers to the fact that these
three soldiers got to come home at all. The film is co-written and directed by
Neil Burger, who made waves a couple of years
ago with The Illusionist. Peña has become a very reliable third banana,
Robbins looks completely in the moment, and McAdams shouldn't try so hard on her
accent. However, it's just really good to see her working again. Seriously, why
the hell did she disappear?
Reader Comments (2)
I'm a wife of a soldier who is on his 3rd deployment since 2002. I'll admit I was skeptical about even watching the trailer for many reasons. First, most of the "war" movies that have come out are not accurate, to say the least. Second, after watching Army Wives (I could only stomach one episode) I know that the views of others about the lives of soldiers, is not realistic. And third, I must tell you that if Tim Robbins and his wife say they support the soldiers, most soldiers will say otherwise. All that said, I am impressed with the trailer. It had me in tears within a few seconds. I have not decided whether I will see the movie. I have lived it and with my husband still gone, if I see it, I will need a box of kleenex with me, unless of course they are handing them out at the door.
McAdams trained with soldiers for some time with soldiers out of 101st at ft campbell. Hiding her identity she trained and lived with the soldiers in the shitty barracks they have there and she did all that just so she could represent us acurately. Big thanks for at least trying!