Preview Movie Review

Hot Pursuit
PG-13
Entertainment: +1
Acceptability: +2

Reese Witherspoon, Sophia Vergara. Action/comedy. Directed by Anne Fletcher.

FILM SYNOPSIS: 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.

PREVIEW REVIEW: I once asked Antony Hopkins if he ever knew of an actor taking a role without first reading the script. He admitted that he had done so himself. Occasionally an actor fervently wants to work with a certain director or a deal is made that if he does this movie, he will get to do the one he wants, so he accepts the script without first reading it. That would explain a lot about Hot Pursuit.

While female duo comedies are in, they can’t just rely on boob jokes and opposites attracting to pass for wit. At some point something funny must actually occur. And though Reese Witherspoon proofed her comic chops with Election and Legally Blonde, and Ms. Vergara knows her way around a Modern Family, here they both seem lost within the maze of unfunny dialogue and situations. Most of the humor is based on Witherspoon’s tininess and Vergara’s bodaciousness – and her cartoonish accent (she acts and sounds like the lovechild of Lucy and Desi). There are three or four jokes in there, but not a whole film. Let’s face it, if you’re going to see this film, it’s to see cleavage.

The film is full of cops on the take, a questionable choice at a time when mistrust of the police is being promoted by activists and the media.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: MGM

Summary
Crude Language: Bawdy humor throughout
Obscene Language: A few minor expletives and two obscenities – the s-word.
Profanity: One GD, coming from a crooked cop.
Violence: Lots of shooting, hitting and car accidents; a policeman is killed.
Sexual Intercourse: The humor stems from crude sexual innuendo and lots of bawdy situations, such as the two leads pretending to be lesbians and later getting into a cat fight which allows for lots of shots of breasts just getting ready to burst forth.
Nudity: No nudity, but the outfits and the cameraman sure want you to know those breasts are there.
Homosexual Conduct: None
Sexually Suggestive Action/Dialog: None
Drug Abuse: Brief drinking; a cartel has loaded a vehicle with heroin.
Other: None
Running Time: 87 minutes
Intended Audience: Fans of Charo (A dated joke, but I couldn’t resist.)