Rating of
1.5/4
Light Entertainment - VERY Light
MovieMike - wrote on 12/22/11
You know when you decide to go with the fat-free desert topping – or the ‘lite’ salad dressing; then you find the taste just isn’t quite there? Well, ‘The Bounty Hunter’ is kind of like that. I don’t want to go on record as saying it’s a bad movie, because it isn’t. It just doesn’t rise to anything remotely resembling above average.
Directed by Andy Tennant (‘Fools Gold’, ‘Hitch’, and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’), this film’s main plot is about a bounty hunter who is tasked with brining in his ex-wife for bail jumping. Additional plot lines come in from the fact that our two principals also each have other parties that are after them as well. Sounds like there’s a lot of potential comedy just waiting to happen here, right? Well, Tennant doesn’t deliver quite as much as you’d expect. The first problem is with the script. Sarah Thorp (writer) provides a story that does contain a few good laughs, but for the most part, you can see them coming from pretty far away. There are also a number of actions that fail to make sense or that are remotely plausible.
Lead, Jennifer Aniston, gives us a performance that seems to be cookie-cutter retreads of any of her other films (‘The Break-up’, ‘Along Came Polly’). She reminds me of a Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts – only a lighter version of those two. Co-star, Gerard Butler (‘Gamer’, ‘Rocknrolla’, ‘300’), who’s normal venue is action flicks, does a decent enough job given the script he has to work with. SNL’s Jason Sudeikis is along for the ride as Aniston’s infatuated co-worker. He delivers a few good moments, but again, nothing outstanding. Christine Baranski shows up as Aniston’s Mom, in a part that is sort of strange and creepy at the same time.
‘The Bounty Hunter’ is an ok date-movie, which often seem to be to few and far between, but is as average as generic sliced bread. Go see it if you’re just looking for a couple’s night out, or in love with all things Jennifer; just keep your expectations low and you might have a few laughs. Pass the ‘Light’ popcorn, please…
