Photo Credit: Sam Emerson/Warner Bros. Ent. Inc.(NEW YORK) — As a child, Reese Witherspoon’s Cooper grew up in the back seat of her father’s police car. At least, that’s how it’s presented in Hot Pursuit. In a montage, we watch her go from a little girl, sitting in the back alongside the likes of a drunk Santa and a transvestite, to a senior in high school, where her father gives her a ride to the prom.
Next thing you know, Cooper’s an adult, chasing a man on foot through city traffic. Turns out it’s her blind date from Christian Mingle, who decided to bolt when she put her gun on the table during their date. Cooper is uptight, extremely by-the-book, and kind of rigid. Make that completely rigid.
Back at the precinct, Cooper’s in charge of the evidence room, but her captain has a more important job for her. She’s to accompany a federal marshal to the home of a married couple and escort them to Dallas, where they’re scheduled to testify against a notorious drug lord.
The wife, Mrs. Riva (Modern Family’s Sofía Vergara), is a wealthy woman who’s enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, thanks to her husband, who was the accountant and chief money smuggler for the drug lord. When Cooper and the marshal arrive at the house, two separate teams of assassins attack, killing the husband and the federal marshal.
But Cooper and Mrs. Riva escape, whereupon all sorts of madcap zaniness ensues! Not really, but writers David Feeney and John Quaintance sure tried to make it seem that way.
Witherspoon and Vergara both possess terrific comedic timing, so there are some funny moments in Hot Pursuit. There are also lots of moments that aren’t as funny as they should have been because the dialogue is so profoundly stupid, too stupid even to be funny. Feeney and Quaintance do an OK job of utilizing Vergara’s thick Latina accent for comedic fodder, but that soon gets old. Director Anne Fletcher also should have had a better handle on Vergara who, at various points, seems to be mugging for the camera.
You’ll laugh a few times, but Hot Pursuit fails to be the smart comedy it should’ve been, especially given that it stars an Oscar-winning actress and the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated star of one of TV’s top comedies. This movie feels beneath them.
Two out of five stars.
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