slothhead54

2015 is going to be the summer of female driven comedies and I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately the first of these offerings was a huge miss.

Reese Witherspoon plays Cooper, a hyper active, OCD police officer with the San Antonio police department according to her police uniform. Relegated to a post in the evidence room, she is clearly the underdog as evidenced by the sexist comments of her male colleagues. When a known drug smuggler has agreed to testify against the head of a large Mexican drug cartel, Cooper is summoned to accompany a DEA lieutenant to retrieve said witness and his wife Daniella, played by Sofia Vergara, and escort them to Dallas. The mission of retrieving the Rivas doesn't go as planned and hence the 'Hot Pursuit' of Cooper and Mrs.Riva ensues.

Sofia Vergara is quickly becoming an objectified one note character. Her character Danielle Riva in 'Hot Pursuit' could be a doppelganger for Gloria from the much loved 'Modern Family'sitcom. Expressing herself in screams and barking orders to Cooper, Vergara is not showing us any other side to her acting that we haven't already seen. She constantly reminds us of her Colombian heritage and many of the jokes written for her are built around her Latin savoir faire.

Witherspoon, who has already shown audiences her acting talents in films like 'Mud' and 'Wild' garners no affection from the audience in this role. At times Cooper seems to be dialing in some of her 'Sweet Home Alabama' appeal and doesn't come close to actually pulling it off.

The jokes in large part aren't nearly as funny as you might think from the marketing on the trailers. The movies tropes around in all the typical gender stereotypes of two women traveling with one another. This is lowbrow comedy at its finest.

There are sequences in the film that feel like they've been directly plucked out of other films. One of the sequences in the third act feels like a total remake of an ending sequence from Sister Act involving multiple look alike extras that disrupt a chase scene. You could also make similar comparisons of 'Hot Pursuit' to other films such 'Tommy Boy', 'Thelma & Louise', 'The Heat','Identity Thief', 'The Road Trip' and 'We're the Millers'. Suffice to say, very little originality or anything novel is offered.

I've already been fortunate enough to see Melissa McCarthy's 'Spy'(June 5) and Amy Schumer's 'Trainkwreck'(July 17) and I have heard positive reviews from people who have seen Pitch Perfect 2 (May 15). Trust me when I say the best is yet to come. My advice is to wait and catch up with this movie later down the road when you can rent it.

'The Gunman' opens with the BBC footage that civil war has erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo between rebel militia and governmental forces locked in a bloody civil war for the control of the country's prized natural resources. Enter Jim Terrier (Sean Penn), a NGO worker providing security while an airstrip is being built. In the middle of chaotic Congo, Jim has fallen in love with Annie (Jasmine Trinca), a Doctors Without Borders volunteer. Annie has attracted the heart of not only Jim but also co worker Felix (Javier Bardem). Felix's jealousy is readily apparent and can only spell disaster for Jim and Annie's relationship. Only a few minutes into the film we discover that both Jim and Feliz are living dual lives. Jim is a hired assassin for a multinational mining company, which is set on protecting their interests in the war torn Congo. Felix is the civil liaison for the foreign mining companies and Sean Penn's assassin team. When the Minister of Mining in the Congo nullifies all mining contracts with foreign companies, Jim is activated by his employer who wants the politician assassinated. The team of four assassins is lead by Cox (Mark Rylance) who announces to his sharp shooters that Felix will decide which of the assassins will take the fatal shot and then said assassin will have to flee the continent immediately after. No surprise Felix chooses Jim to take the shot and having accomplished the mission, Jim is forced to leave Africa and Annie without so much as a goodbye. 8 years later Jim has reunited with the African continent as a UNICEF employee drilling wells when suddenly his past assassination comes back to haunt him. For the next hour and a half, Jim must circumvent Europe to track down who has knowledge of his past deeds and understand why he is wanted dead. Without giving any spoilers, the reason 'The Gunman'never gets off the ground is because the film is unable to sustain any intrigue. Jim is a glorified henchman for a multinational corporation, he is hardly the hero that you want to root for. Jim's character is drawn so thin you know very little about him to care enough whether he lives or dies. Additionally his relationship with Annie earns so little screen time before being abruptly halted that you invest almost nothing in the possibilities of Jim and Annie rekindling at some later date. The questions that Jim seeks answer to could have easily been solved with a couple phone calls, but instead his contacts send him on a treasure hunt around Europe. Apparently the information Jim needs is only accessible with a change of location at each turn. Each new venue invites its share of killers and combat. While Jim is on his mission for answers, we catch wind that Interpol, headed by Idris Elba, has Jim on their surveillance. Interpol seems one step ahead of Jim in terms of solving the puzzle, however they are convinced Jim is the linchpin to cracking the case. The final act of the movie is very predictable not to mention familiar and even a bit silly. Sean Penn's physique in the film is impressive and we are constantly reminded how much the actor got in shape for the role considering how much screen time his giant biceps earn. There are hardly any production credits that are distinguishable and worth mentioning here. Ultimately, the film underwhelms and feels like it wants to cash in on the fan base of the retired Bourne franchise.