Hot Pursuit (3/10): Not so hot after all

“He is known as the Bank of Bogota, the Tender Tender, the Lender Lender, the Money Launderer, El Chapo, the Pork Chop.”

There are films where the producers and everyone involved in the making of the movie seem to demand that its audience shut down their brain in order to simply enjoy the movie and have fun with it, and then there are movies like Hot Pursuit where it’s simply imposible to experience any pleasure from it no matter how long you’ve shut down your brain for. Hot Pursuit is the definition of lazy film making where every character is a stereotype and all the jokes seem to revolve around the same concepts: white southern girls are flat and uptight, while latinas are loud, busty and aggressive. There is not much more to this film that only stands out because it stars two females in the lead roles. We’ve all been asking for more substantial roles for females so it is always a delight to see a film like this highlighting two females as the main stars. Unfortunately the script lacks ideas and the comedy falls completely flat which doesn’t help the feminist case at all. 

The film stars two extremely talented and funny actresses, but the script completely handcuffs them and there isn’t anything they can do to save the movie. If you want to have fun go watch Sofia Vergara in any episode of Modern Family and I guarantee you that you will get more laughs out of it. Reese Witherspoon was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year for her performance in Wild where she was outstanding, but if she’s not careful she might end up turning into the next Cameron Diaz who tries so hard to be funny that she only ends up being annoying. If you want to see Witherspoon giving a fun performance then check out Legally Blonde or Election which were the two films that put her on the radar. Vergara and Witherspoon are funny actresses so on papers this seemed like an interesting project, but here they aren’t given any opportunity to shine.

The premise of the film is pretty simple: Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) is an uptight cop who takes the law seriously. Her boss asks her to escort a key witness who is going to testify against an important drug cartel leader. The witness is Daniella Riva (Sofia Vergara). Things don’t go as expected as several corrupt cops and drug dealers try to prevent the two women from reaching their destination. There are also some twists along the way that really don’t add much to the comedy. The film is an excuse to put the two talented females together, but the screenwriters managed to take away whatever magic the two actresses might have had together. Hot Pursuit might be one of the frontrunners for this year’s Razzies for its lack of imagination and being such a missed opportunity.  

Step Up (7/10): Tatum's charisma carries the film and lets us forgive its many flaws

“I'm fighting, for something that's real for the first time in my life!”

When Anne Fletcher made her directorial debut way back in 2006 no one imagined that this small budget film with a relatively unknown cast would end up grossing over 100 million in the US and inspiring a franchise that currently stands at five movies. It wasn’t received warmly by the critics due to its cliche storyline and corny dialogues, but audiences dug it. I never was interested in the franchise and this was my first time actually sitting down and watching one. The main reason was because I knew this was Channing Tatum’s break out role. He had done a couple of movies before with smaller roles, but this was the first time he was given a lead role. Tatum has delivered some strong roles recently (Foxcatcher being his most impressive) so I wanted to go back and revisit some of his earlier work. I was surprised I actually ended up enjoying this film as much as I did and I think it is largely due to Tatum’s charisma. He didn’t deliver a great performance, but he definitely carried the film with his charm making it enjoyable. The dancing was also pretty solid although I am not much of an expert in that area. The main problems with Step Up revolve around the cliched screenplay and dull subplots that almost derailed the film completely, but the charisma from Tatum and his excellent chemistry with Jenna Dewan make this an entertaining viewing experience. It’s been 9 years since Tatum and Dewan met on set for this movie and they are still together in real life. The chemistry was really there. 

Step Up is one of those films that you know is formulaic, unoriginal, and without any great technical achievements, but you still find it enjoyable due to the charismatic lead performances. You could file Step Up under the romance/dance genre along with other films as Bring it On, Save the Last Dance, and Honey. The screenplays are perhaps the weakest thing about these films, but you still can find them enjoyable when the lead characters deliver charismatic performances and know how to dance. That is the case with Channing Tatum who plays a troubled young teen who lives with his foster parents and spends a lot of time in the streets. One night out with his friends he ends up vandalizing an arts school and gets caught. He is ordered to do 200 hours of community service as payment for the damages he caused. At the school he meets a young student from a wealthy family played by Jenna Dewan who dreams of becoming a dancer. When her dancing partner gets injured, he offers to help, and the plot evolves from there.

The story works best when it focuses on the two lead characters rehearsing and dancing together, but when the film shifts its focus on other subplots revolving around their friends the story losses some of its appeal. There is unnecessary conflict introduced in the film that is resolved rather easily and in a predictable way. There is also a tragic scene that takes place near the end of the film that felt out of place (the melodrama is poorly handled by the screenwriters). However, the final dance scene is one of the best in the movie so it does end in a positive note. Despite its predictable storyline and formulaic premise, Step Up is still an enjoyable film. Not good enough however to get me interested in the sequels.

My Review: The Guilt Trip (4/10)

¨If all the kids in the world were lined up and I was to pick one kid for myself Andy, it will always be you.¨

The Guilt Trip had several things going for it considering it was directed by Anne Fletcher who in my opinion has made some decent films like The Proposal, 27 Dresses, and Step Up. They may not have received a lot of love from the critics, but I appreciated those films, and especially liked The Proposal. The script was written by Dan Fogelman, who in 2011 wrote Crazy Stupid Love, a movie which was in my top 20 films of the year list. And to top it all off the film was teaming up the always hilarious Seth Rogen with the beloved Barba Streisand. Despite being really famous, Streisand hasn’t made many films recently so fans were really looking forward to this film. I was very disappointed with The Guilt Trip because it was pretty predictable and plain. This road trip movie between a mother and a son won`t appeal to a broad audience, especially considering that Rogen plays a much more serious and restrained role than he usually does. I can only imagine an older target audience enjoying this film, and Streisand fans will be pleased. She gives a strong performance, and Rogen does a decent job as well, but in my opinion the script was just too weak and it really hurt the movie. This is one of those movies that everyone will forget about by the end of the month.

Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen), has just invented a safe cleaning product, but is having a lot of issues trying to pitch it to important sales companies. He may have invented an innovative product, but he really doesn’t know how to market it. His mother, Joyce (Barbra Streisand), constantly calls him and tries to keep up with him although he gets a little annoyed by her involvement in his life. When he discovers that his widowed mother had a past lover he decides it would be a good idea to hook her up with him in order to get her less involved in his own life. He doesn’t tell her this of course, but brings up the idea that they should take an 8 day road trip together across the United States while he meets up with different companies to sell his product. Along the way they experience new things and meet some interesting people.

The Guilt Trip isn’t a laugh out loud comedy, instead it tried to be a more serious and dramatic film building on a mother and son relationship. It has its touching moments, but for the most part the film is very predictable and seems to be heading nowhere. A more mature audience might enjoy this film, but it is being pitched as a comedy which it really isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the film has several funny moments, but it isn’t your typical buddy comedy. Streisand and Rogen give strong performances, but it´s not enough to save the film. I prefer Rogen when he plays his usual wacky character, but here he still manages to deliver a credible performance and has great chemistry with Streisand. At the end the film is about these two people trying to connect with each other and build on their relationship. As usual a road trip seems to be the best way for these two people to get over their differences and fix their problems. This could have been a much better film if the script was better, but I was disappointed. Don’t go see this film unless you are a Barbra Streisand fan

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