It isn’t easy to make a realistic movie about relationships that ventures from the battlefields of Iraq to the bayou country of Louisiana, tells a romantic story with powerful sexual tension and yet is only rated PG-13.  The Lucky One suffers from its restrictions, and from its by-the-numbers plot points that ultimately turn an intriguing human drama into an old-fashioned passion play with a contrived happy ending.

There are certainly things to like and respect about this movie.  Director Scott Hicks takes his time developing the Nicholas Sparks story, which is pretty well enacted by Zac Efron (no longer the High School Musical teen heartthrob) and relative newcomer Taylor Schilling (who I’ve never seen before).  Efron is effective as a Marine who survives three tours in Iraq, partly because he finds a photograph of Schilling, which he believes becomes his lucky charm.  After his discharge, he travels to Louisiana to find her and thank her for being his guardian angel.  Only, because this is a movie, he cannot bring himself to tell her the truth and falls in love with her, only to await the moment when she discovers his secret.  Schilling is very impressive as a woman who has lost her brother to the war and guards her heart against further grief.  And Blythe Danner is quite endearing as her outspoken mother.

But there are also artificial obstacles to overcome and clichéd characters, especially Schilling’s jealous former husband (Jay R. Ferguson), now a police officer on a power trip.  There is one moment that Ferguson’s character actually seems to break the bonds of his stereotype, only to fall back into the pit of stock characterization a few minutes later — which leads, of course, to the false happy ending, where a trite, convenient tragedy opens the door for our protagonists’ romantic bliss without fear of complication or rivalry.

The Lucky One stresses romantic illusion through beautiful cinematography, idyllic views of the South, a complete lack of insects, lots of water play, dogs and general love of animals, and a script that could really have worked harder to convey less fantasy and more reality.  I wanted to like this movie, but it refused to play fair with its hero — who is entirely too well-adjusted considering what he has experienced — and then at the end marks every possible box on the overused movie cliché checklist. The audience deserves better.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  19 May 2012.