Overall Grade: (C-)

A enjoyable road-tip-esque action-comedy that is carried by the fun chemistry between Witherspoon and Vergara.

Synopsis

A plain, uptight cop, and a sexy, outgoing widow of a drug-lord cross Texas being chased by corrupt cops and cartel members who are trying to keep the widow from testifying.

My Opinion

This was not an extraordinary film by any means and while I didn’t have much expectation from the result it would give, I was very surprised by the amount of entertainment it ended up delivering. This was a fun comedy with enough substance to it to keep the mood of the film fun and the story-line enjoyable. The premise was far from groundbreaking but with the collection of characters and the outrageous moments along the way I found my interest held throughout and laughing a lot more than expected.

Whether or not Vergara was going to be able to carry the lead role along Witherspoon was up in the air. There was also no doubt of Witherspoon’s acting skills but even she had gone some time without a comedic hit. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this film would be considered a hit but in my opinion both actresses more the came through with some strong comedic performances that saved a plain been there done that plot.

The creation of laughable scenarios managed to set up some hilarious moments over the course of the story-line and the dialogue was witty enough to riddle the film with many great laughs. Along with the usual collection flat jokes and missed comedic attempts films like these often bring.

Luckily, in my opinion those stale moments were few enough to not greatly hinder the overall fun of the movie. The good thing about this film was without question the chemistry between the leads and it was fun and enjoyable to see them work off of one another in many, out right funny moments to be honest.

There were not many forced situations and rather than trying to kill you with dumb jokes and stupidly implausible moments, this film was able to simply use the differences of the two leads in virtually every facet, to rouse laughter and it worked great. Both Witherspoon and Vergara had their moments and you could see the fun they were having in their roles and it was a strong plus to this otherwise generic comedy.

Another good thing about this comedy splashed with action was the pace. The story kept itself moving and did not try to stuff too much in to the script. At just under an hour and a half you can sit back laugh more than a few times then it is over. Too many scripts like this, try too hard and with extended run-time’s you get burnt out and eventually just want it to be over. With this film you enjoy the two lead performances, the many chuckles from simple, realistic (at times) scenarios and the lighthearted feel.

The bickering comedy with Vergara and Witherspoon taking shots at one another was entertaining and you have to give it up to Witherspoon in particular for being the butt of many jokes that landed in strong fashion. There was also some good physical comedy in this one as well and even a decent amount of action to keep the tone upbeat.

On the downside this film was not very ambitious and the characters other than the leading duo, were absent. Luckily with a short length you don’t find this hindering the overall enjoyment too much. In the end “Hot Pursuit” was more than I thought it would be and for a night when you want a feel-good comedy with some strong humor delivered by good performances’ then you will find this one worth a watch.