Hot Pursuit 2015
The most notable thing about Hot Pursuit is the fact that is was directed by a woman (Anne Fletcher), produced by women and has two women in the central roles. In an industry where women are marginalized in major roles both in front and behind the camera it is good to see a film where women are playing important roles in the film’s production, other than that the film really isn’t notable for anything else.
It’s about an uptight police office, Cooper (Reese Witherspoon), who must protect a drug lord’s wife so that she can testify against a notorious cartel leader. The odd coupling of uptight Texan woman and an overly sexual Colombian (played by Sofia Vergara) could have been played for laughs and whilst there is a good chemistry between the two leads, both characters are immensely irritating.
The jokes about transgender prostitutes, lesbians and men being disgusted by periods (we’re really, really not. Seriously. We’re not) are lazy, the action and story is boring and the continuity of the whole film is just poor, as evident in one scene where a character is beaten to pulp and in the very next scene he is as good as new. If a female fronted buddy cop movies are what you want to watch then check out The Heat (which isn’t all that great either but better than this) or anything from Paul Fieg (who directed The Heat) who often directs films where women play a strong role in both plot and comedy (see Bridesmaids, Spy and the upcoming female centred Ghostbusters reboot).