If you’ve seen one buddy-based comedy, you’ve seen them all.
“Dumb and Dumber,†“Identity Thief,†The Heat,†“Cop Out,†“21 Jump Street,†“Rush Hour,†and “Harold and Kumar†all have something in common with “Hot Pursuit.†It’s the same old formula of duos who find themselves at odds in some way, shape, or form. Circumstances call for reluctant unity, and as they work together, the story connects their dots to a point of a happy ending.
Whether hit-or-miss lies deep within the narrative…
In “Hot Pursuit,” an uptight and by-the-book cop (Reese Witherspoon) tries to protect the sexy and outgoing widow (Sofia Vergara) of a drug boss as they race through Texas, pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.
Loud and extremely annoying (in a cute way), one of the best things about “Hot Pursuit†is its leads. Teaming the most unlikely of pair, oddly enough, chemistry between Witherspoon & Vergara is decent and forcefully sustains a movie that falls flat due to its uninteresting, color-by-number script.
With two WTF acts that run a hamster wheel of yawns, the laughs are far-and-between and mostly give us Vergara at a thousand percent with a spice of Latina heat, alongside Witherspoon serving as her balanced, innocent, low-key co-star. The one-liners between them occasionally work, but its high stake scenarios gradually pick with a more enjoyable display, giving us an end result of charm instead of comedy.
Not the best, but certainly not the worst!
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Grade: C+ / Genre: Comedy, Action/Adventure / Rated: PG-13 / Run Time: 1 Hr. 27 Min.
Starring: Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
