Movie Review: Low Mark for “Hot Pursuit”
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 87 minutes
Toscano’s Take:
Rating: F
“Hot Pursuit” opens in theaters today and our resident film critic, Tony Toscano, didn’t have any kind words for the new comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara.
In this new comedy, an uptight and by-the-book cop tries to protect the outgoing widow of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.
Let’s begin by saying “Hot Pursuit” is strictly a formula film. And we’ve seen this formula so many, many times in “buddy” pictures like “Lethal Weapon,” “Rush Hour,” “48 Hours,” “Midnight Run,” “Shanghai Noon,” “Hot Fuzz” to name a few in the “Cop Genre.” But you can see that even though the formula is the same, those films are engaging and worth your time to see.
“Hot Pursuit” is not.
Both Reese Witherspoon (who was up for an Oscar for her role in “Wild”) and Sofia Vergara try to engage the audience, but there seems to be a desperation in their performances, which pushes the audience away.
Witherspoon as the nerdy, cop who’s trying to prove herself, just falls flat. There’s no enthusiasm in performance and somewhere in the second reel, she just gives up trying… along with her Southern accent.
Vergara on the other hand is too exuberant and too over-the-top. Flinging one-liners after another, she drowns out each joke with a high-pitched squeal-like timber. After 30 minutes it becomes unbearable.
The script is so sloppy it should be served in a bun with a side of slaw and Anne Fletcher’s direction is so bad, I wouldn’t trust her to show me how to get to the mall.
What we’re left with is a sad, sexist, un-funny, half-baked premise that should have been burned rather than green-lit.
Hot Pursuit gets an F and is rated PG-13
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Starring: Studio:
Reese Witherspoon Criterion
Sofia Vergara
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