Movie review | ‘Hot Pursuit’ a mess that ruined a chance for a franchise
Who doesn’t love Reese Witherspoon? She’s an adorable, seemingly approachable southern sweetie, whose proven comic and dramatic abilities have been showcased in “Pleasantville,” “Legally Blonde” and “Walk the Line,” among many other film and TV roles.
Similarly, who doesn’t love the beautiful, fiery, Latina Sofia Vergara, co-star of “Modern Family?” So the two together should be a winning combination, right?
Not so fast.
“Hot Pursuit,” is a hot mess of a film that should have been a no-brainer. If the script had been as funny and tight as in “The Hangover,” for example, Witherspoon and Vergara would be busy filming the sequel.
This cops and robbers road movie features the usual cast of drug dealers, Mexican cartels, and bad cops in predictable, tired scenarios. All that said, the movie is not as bad as many are claiming, including a 7 percent rating (out of 108) from Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.
Nearly 50 percent of Rotten Tomatoes’ audience said they liked the film, and it’s had reasonable box office success with around $30 million in ticket sales against a $35 million budget. The comedy should prove a money maker for the studio, though producers may not be so hot to build a franchise.
What do those stars mean?
* Really, really, really bad. Don’t bother.
** Pretty bad, with one or more redeeming scenes.
*** Pretty good, but maybe not great, worth seeing for most
**** Really great, a winning combination of story, casting, and directing
***** The rarest gem, an all-around perfect motion picture
This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 2:35 AM with the headline "Movie review | ‘Hot Pursuit’ a mess that ruined a chance for a franchise."