‘Luck’ is right up Lohan’s alley

The latest Lindsay Lohan vehicle, “Just My Luck,” is a serving of cotton candy: Light, fluffy and sweet; there isn’t any substance to it, but it’s still fun to eat. Especially if you’re young.

Lohan plays Ashley, an up-and- comer at a major public relations firm whose luck is beyond incredible. Everything goes her way, but Ashley is too naive and self-involved to appreciate it. Rain clouds disappear when she steps outside, the streets are lined with green traffic lights, and she just happens to be “really good” at playing the lottery.

When her agency has a meeting with one of its top clients, of course the entire office ? sans Ashley ? is held hostage in a malfunctioning elevator, paving the way for Ashley to pitch the PR campaign. The client, music mogul Damon Phillips (Faizon Love), loves her idea, and Ashley earns herself a promotion.

Ashley’s pitch is to throw a masquerade ball. That puts her on a collision course with the luckless Jake (Chris Pine), a wannabe manager who is stalking Phillips to try to convince him to sign his band.

When Ashley and Jake cross paths ? and lock lips ? everything does a 180. Jake saves the life of Phillips, who returns the favor by putting Jake’s band on the fast-track to stardom. And Ashley begins a long and painful spiral downward, losing her job, apartment and self-esteem. She finally realizes the masked man she kissed that fateful night stole her luck, and she wants it back. Only problem is, she doesn’t know who he is.

“Just My Luck” is an endless loop of the same one-note-joke, but the film works for what it is: the Cinderella story in reverse.

Lohan does a great job carrying the film, and it’s a lot of fun to watch her deal with a dose of reality. She shows a real talent for pratfalls and is a delight whether she’s prancing in a designer jacket or mopping a bowling alley in sneakers. She also does a fantastic job of playing obtuse without turning it into stupid.

The most regrettable thing about the movie is the filmmaker’s decision to keep it light and avoid the deep end of the pool (which probably won’t bother the target young teen audience). All the ingredients are there for a theme about “luck is what you make of it,” but instead Ashley puts all her faith in luck and little in herself.