Hit by Lightning (2014)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Ricky Miller (Jon Cryer) is a pathetic, balding manager of Debbie's restaurant in LA. Seth (Will Sasso) is his scheming sleazy idiot friend. In frustration, he prays to God for him to find his soulmate before he's hit by lightning. Out of nowhere, he gets a pop-up ad from E-Happily and is matched up with the perfect Danita (Stephanie Szostak). He falls completely in love. She tells him about her abusive husband and convinces him to kill him. I miss Duckie and I never liked Two and a Half Men. This is somewhere in the middle. Ricky is pathetic and some of Seth sleaziness does rub off on him. He's not the most appealing rom-com lead. Szostak is a beauty but she doesn't have the edge to be a femme fatal. That character could generate more laughs as a noir femme fatal. She's too nice to be mean. Seth is too much of a douche without the humanity. None of the attempted comedy is that funny.

SPOILER ALERT! ...Halfway through the movie, the popcorn still tasted fine and my only concern ping-ponged between Jon Cryer and the script. While his character, Ricky, was essentially a reprise of Cryer's character on "Two And a Half Men" ... I was left wondering if he was actually miscast. Could someone else have played Ricky's role better? Steve Buscemi was alluded to in the film. Buscemi playing Ricky? THAT would be hilarious. But Cryer should be nailing this role, the movie should be more memorable than the sitcom. Alas, I must put the "NEEDS MORE FUNNY" post-it on this one.Then the writing came off the rails. Why does the ending fall flat? Because we've already seen the Stephanie Szostak character, Donita, leave Ricky for 10 days. Her nine-month disappearance after the shooting is just more of the same. The story needs a more convincing second plot-point pay-off.Solution! ... Following the church scene where Ricky secretly meets Donita, have the cop (Ricky's relative) bust Ricky and Donita. Perhaps while the cop was visiting another 'family tree member' at the cemetery, he saw the grave Ricky dug and puts it all together. Tighter than the "crazy serial killer confessing to the wrong murder" excuse.Ricky and Donita go to court. They get a hard judge who goes soft. Donita gets 4 years, Ricky gets 5-and-a-half for pulling the trigger. Their love is now tested by a new element -- the only thing love truly desires: time. Ricky lamented about time before. Now he HAS something to wait for. Even jail is better than managing at Debby's. Ricky has plenty of time to write ... sappy love poetry? Fast forward to four years later. Donita visits Ricky everyday in jail. Silly conjugal visits. Revise the earlier runner about "I love you plus infinity" and close movie with Ricky and Donita in the prison visiting room, their palms pressed together against the glass partition, Donita tearing up, saying, "I love you plus ... how many days are there in 18 months?" to which Ricky quickly replies, "547 ... counting the leap year."

So.. Um, this wasn't funny. Or very entertaining.Yes, I saw this pretty much just because of Ala..uhm..Jon Cryer. I like 'Two and a half men'. Liked. I like Jon Cryer.But this movie, though..? I still don't know what it tries to be. I almost can't even remember what happens. I remember one thing about Jon Cryer, but I guess you could count that as a spoiler if I said more, so I won't. I try to stay spoiler free.He does an alright job. so does that big dude from 'The three stooges'-remake. Or, alright, I don't know.. Not a particularly bad job.This movie is just really boring, nothing cool happens, not much happens at all, really. I can't remember what happens. You know, just don't watch it. The gun intrigued me, but I don't remember what it was for. I don't remember why I gave it a 4, not a 3, but I trust my former self.

HBL has Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) as Ricky, a man entering his forties without love and soon without hair. Ricky and his best friend Seth (Will Sasso - MadTV) have been best friends forever and muse over the chances of each actually finding their soul mate. He just wants to find someone special - and he does in Danita (Stephanie Szostak). Ricky joins an online dating site and seems to have found his. Needless to say things aren't quite what they seem and soon Ricky finds himself in a quandary straight out of a 1940s film noir.Hit by Lightning has a little too much a feel of TV about it to really fly, though it's got pace and a good script - personally I would have liked some filters and feeling of film, it is shot and lit very directly.It is a nice movie to wile away some time to - Cryer is good in his way and this small film plays to his strengths - it's the sort of film that you can watch on a plane and enjoy.