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Hot Pursuit Review

By Tom Fugalli

Trivial Pursuit

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Director Anne Fletcher takes odd couple Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara on the road in the buddy comedy "Hot Pursuit." In theory that's funny. Maybe they needed more practice.

Officer Cooper (Witherspoon) has the opportunity to escape her desk job (the result of an unfortunate taser incident) by escorting Daniella Riva (Vergara), whose husband (Vincent Laresca) is to testify against drug dealer Vicente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio), across Texas.

Things go wrong and Cooper and Riva end up on the run from gang members and corrupt cops. A string of uninspired scenarios ensue, and any humor is due largely to the charisma of the two stars. But it proves impossible even for these two to enliven the endless variations of short jokes, slapstick, and Vergara-fication of the English language ("Meester Cherlox Homes!")

Randy (Robert Kazinsky) is an ex-con asleep in the back of his truck when Cooper and Riva steal it (or as Cooper is fond of saying, they "commandeered the vehicle"). His character is the laidback love interest for the high-strung Cooper, but their scenes come across as not romantic or comedic, but a platonic plot point.

Riva tells Cooper not to judge a book by its cover, which is good advice and can be applied to "Hot Pursuit". You would think two female co-stars (who are also producers) working with a female director would result in a movie that didn't rely so heavily on stereotypes and misogyny. But look inside and you'll find male screenwriters, David Feeney and John Quaintance, who essentially wrote an Adam Sandler script and put lipstick on it (which has actually already been done by Adam Sandler).

Even the bloopers that play during the closing credits, typically a reliable way to sneak in some comedic compensation, fall flat. At least Witherspoon and Vergara had a good time filming, and "Hot Pursuit" is a quick 87 minutes - though not quick enough to keep the laughs from getting away.

What did you think?

Movie title Hot Pursuit
Release year 2015
MPAA Rating PG-13
Our rating
Summary Despite the female stars/producers and director, this is essentially an Adam Sandler script with lipstick on it.
View all articles by Tom Fugalli
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