Formula isn’t always a bad thing in films. Formulas have been established in certain
genres in order to provide a framework so that more interesting script elements
can be emphasized, but this does have the consequence of making some films
predictable. The buddy cop comedy genre
has practically written itself into staplehood, where any hack screenwriter can
write one and it will still function as a serviceable film. That’s what seems to have happened with Hot Pursuit. Critically panned across the board, I don’t
actually think the film is all that bad.
It just isn’t especially good and relies heavily upon its formula.
Stop me if you’ve heard something similar before. Reese Witherspoon plays an incompetent cop
with a reputation for messing up on the job.
Sofia Vegara is the trophy wife to a drug cartel boss who wants to enter
witness protection. When Witherspoon is
assigned to act as Vegara’s police escort (presumably because she’s San
Antonio’s only female officer?), things get rough quickly as the two are
attacked by masked men, forcing the two to get into wild shenanigans while they
evade their pursuers.
Now, I normally wouldn’t give much credence to the film
where one of the first jokes is a transwoman trap gag, but the film mostly
stays away from such crass forms of “comedy.”
Unlike Paul Blart, Hot Pursuit actually has jokes written
into its script, and while not all of them are funny, there at least is some
effort put into the process. There are
jokes about Witherspoon’s height and Vagara’s age that are played up for some
cute chuckles, and while the film never caused me to laugh outright, I can see
how someone might find some of the antics funny. There are moments of unfortunate writing,
like a scene where the oft-repeated punchline is that “periods are gross,” but
overall, the film is pretty harmless.
What I think will really sell this for some people is the
comedic chemistry between Witherspoon and Vagara. They aren’t the next big thing in comedy, but
they have a good feel for one other and can project larger than life
personalities onto their admittedly stock characters. Many scenes as written wouldn’t have been as
amusing without their performances.
Witherspoon in particular has proved herself to be above this kind of
generic production, but she seems like she’s having fun in the role so it makes
it easy to have fun with her.
All in all, Hot
Pursuit is not a film that will cause anyone to sit up and take
notice. It’s a film to watch once and
immediately forget about, a most inoffensive eighty minutes without any
pretense to being anything more than a momentary diversion. Is it as horrible as the critical press has
said? No, not really, as the
performances are the most redeeming quality that I feel was vastly
overlooked. But will this film be
remembered even a month after its home video release? Probably not.
What otherwise bad films were made better by the inclusion
of skilled performers? Share your
favorites in the comments below.
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