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Gregory Hines, James Earl Jones, Joe Theismann

Good Luck--which played the 1997 film festival circuit under the unwieldy title The Ox and the Eye--is a casebook example of good intentions getting in the way of good filmmaking. This i...( read more  read more... )s one of those eager-to-please movies that works well on the surface while perpetuating a stereotypical (and therefore condescending) perception of the disabled. The story is strictly movie-of-the-week fodder, involving the odd-couple pairing of a former football star (Vincent D'Onofrio) who was blinded in a freak tackling accident, and a paraplegic (Gregory Hines) who dreams of entering a popular white-water rafting competition on Oregon's Rogue River.

Hines convinces the bull-headed D'Onofrio to join him in the competition, defying all those bumpkin nonbelievers who doubt that two "cripples" can pilot a river raft, and Good Luck settles into its predictable feel-good plotting. The movie is most enjoyable when Hines and D'Onofrio simply play off of each other's considerable talents, and humorous dialogue enables them to give engaging performances (although we could do without the gratuitous profanity and D'Onofrio's gleeful description of a prodigious bowel movement). The problem with this movie is that it avoids depth at every turn, favoring triumph-over-adversity clichés and offering nothing new (or particularly authentic) in its handling of the physical and emotional issues of blindness and paralysis. The direction varies from adequate to amateurish, and by the time the movie indulges an obligatory ending that's pregnant with saccharine uplift, only the most gullible viewer will be suckered into feeling good. --Jeff Shannon

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47% liked it

1,068 ratings

R, 92 min.

Directed by: Richard LaBrie

Release Date: November 7, 1996

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DVD Release Date: May 5, 1998

Stats: 30 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (30)

  • alicostner
    October 2, 2008
    alicostner
    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 ou...( read more)t 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.
  • deedee1165
    February 15, 2008
    deedee1165
    want to buy it anyone know where it is for sale ?
  • themattk
    January 16, 2008
    themattk
    Supurb fillm about overcoming adversity
  • glenn931
    July 31, 2007
    glenn931
    Haha^^ Funny. Special when Vincent had sex with "Peggy" and Gregory had to be in the bathroom, lol!!^^ Very funny, but i hate the first part in the movie, not funny at all, no drama either.
  • Liloh
    July 31, 2007
    Liloh
    This Movie is so funny. Gregory Hines and V.D. make a great team.
  • jlinkens
    April 6, 2007
    jlinkens
    decent dramedy for D'Onofrio fans... 2nd paragraph of review is pretty much correct. Hines and D'Onofrio played off eachother well enough and the bowel movement was funny...
  • SarahJoyFrost
    December 11, 2006
    SarahJoyFrost
    This film looks alright , i would like to see it!

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Good Luck Trivia

  • This actor directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck.  Answer »
  • what movie did lindsay lohan star in where she lost all her good luck when she kissed a guy  Answer »
  • What Movie Has Lindsy Lohan And She Has Good Luck But Then It Comes To An End??  Answer »
  • I was in Naked Gun, Played a priest in "Repossesed," and donned a real life Version of Mr. Magoo. I just Want to say Good Luck. We're all counting on You.  Answer »
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