On September 25, 2008 “The Lucky Ones” opened nation wide, the film is directed by Neil Burger from a screen play he wrote with Dirk Wittenborn. Better known for his Box office debut “The illusionist” (2006), Burger once again aspires to make an impact in his second directorial opportunity. “The Lucky Ones” stars Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook), Tim Robbins (Mystic River) and Michael Peña (Crash, World Trade Center).

The film starts off with three U.S soldiers who find themselves on leave from their duties, T.K Poole (Michael Peña), Colee Dunn (Rachel McAdams) were both injured in combat while in Iraq and were granted 30 days off for their injuries. Fred Cheever (Tim Robbins) was honorably discharged from the U.S Army.

While on their way back from Iraq the three soldiers find themselves stranded in a New York airport due to a power outage that caused their flights to be canceled. Eager to get to their destinations the three agreed upon renting a minivan and splitting the cost.

While on the road the three encounter many trials and find themselves trying to look out for one another. From the car keys getting looked in the car to bar room brawls, the trio only seem to be growing more fond and closer to one another despite the hardships they’ve encountered in their personal lives.

Such as when Cheever finds out that home isn’t always home sweet home, while on the road he was extremely excited about finally being reunited with his family, once they arrive at Cheever’s home, to his surprise he finds out that his wife no longer wants to be with him.

Only to add on to the stress, Cheever’s son arrives at the house with a surprise of his own, explaining to his father that he was accepted to Stanford but he needs twenty thousand dollar tuition or else he will not be able to attend the university.

This film offers nonstop laughs, heartache and adventure. “The Lucky Ones” is a dramatic comedy about three very different people with very different personalities. They embark on a journey of pain, faith, anger and love across the United States to ultimately find that they are the closest thing they have to a real family.

Finding out the truth about themselves and coming to terms with what is and what was and what could have been molds these three characters together and offers the viewer a very strong sense of passion and hope. “The Lucky Ones” is rated R for language and sexual content. The running time is approximately 113 minutes.