Soldier buddy movie 'Lucky Ones' loses its way

Either "The Lucky Ones" is an Iraq war drama masquerading as a buddy road movie, or a buddy road movie masquerading as an Iraq war drama.

Either way, its heart and intentions are in the right places, even if it's not exactly sure where it's going, and narrative speed isn't of the essence.

Three U.S. soldiers wounded in the Iraq war cross paths at a New York airport where they've arrived from a military hospital in Germany. With airport computers expected to be down for a long time, they decide not to wait for a plane, but rent a car and go straight to St. Louis.

That's where Cheever (Tim Robbins) lives. Afflicted with spinal injuries, he intends to go home and be with the wife and son he hasn't seen in two years. (Apparently, those extra tours of duty are getting really tough.)

Colee (Rachel McAdams), a southern-drawling private on a 30-day leave, has plans to go to Las Vegas and hook up with the parents of her late GI boyfriend, killed in action. She has a wounded leg, a guitar and a fantasy that they will accept her into their house. She has no place else to go.

TK (Chicago's own Michael Pena) also has a 30-day leave. He wants to continue to the West Coast to be with his girlfriend, who doesn't know that enemy shrapnel in his groin means that TK may not be the man he used to be.

As soon as they hit St. Louis, sobering reality takes hold.

Cheever discovers that his wife has moved on. She wants a divorce. His son is happy to see Dad, but mostly because he needs $20,000 to get into Stanford. (Somewhere in this subplot is a Harry Chapin song.)

By this time, the trio of strangers has begun to function as a de facto family unit, and that's where "The Lucky Ones" achieves its emotional tug. As in war, the soldiers start to watch each other's backs, be it in a contrived and unconvincing barroom brawl or bearing up under bad news on the domestic front.

The most disappointing aspect of "The Lucky Ones" is that it uses the war mostly as a plot device to give these characters a common history and a reason to meet. Unlike Kimberly Pierce's "Stop-Loss" (or its Vietnam War counterpart, Hal Ashby's "Coming Home"), "Lucky Ones" doesn't delve into the validity of the war itself.

It's more interested in wacky adventures, such as the trio stopping by a Willow Creeky super church, facing off with a mean tornado and running into a campsite of hookers who might just have the skills poor TK needs.

"Lucky Ones" has the look and texture of a gritty docudrama shot on the fly with hand-held cameras in the very tight quarters of a minivan. It's a completely different movie than the last film that writer/director Neil Burger gave us. That was the lushly photographed period drama "The Illusionist" starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti.

Burger coaxes the strongest performance yet out of the appealing McAdams, mostly known for her role as the romantic lead of "The Notebook." The thin actress was completely miscast and unconvincing as the highly athletic heroine in Wes Craven's sky-high thriller "Red Eye."

Not here.

McAdams underwent basic military training to play Colee, and her physical preparation makes all the difference in the power and gracefulness of her moves.

When Colee whops a guy, you can hear pain.

"The Lucky Ones"

Rating: 2&189; stars

Starring: Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena

Directed by: Neil Burger

Other: A Roadhouse Pictures release. Rated R for language, sexual situations. 115 minutes.