Hot Pursuit is your typical odd-couple buddy comedy. Reese Witherspoon plays Officer Rose Connolly, an intense, rule-following cop who has been assigned to protect sassy Colombian beauty Daniella Riva (Sofia Vergara) and her husband until they can testify against a drug lord. Everything goes belly-up when Mr. Riva gets shot and the two women must go on the run through Texas, chased by crooked cops and dangerous gunmen.
The talented Witherspoon tries her best, but the stereotypical Hollywood role of Uptight Woman Who Needs to Find a Man (recently played by Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World) is beneath her. Vergara isn’t exactly breaking the mould with her character, either – a sexy, feisty woman from South America.
The potentially fantastic chemistry between the two actresses is sadly not realised for most of the film, and many of the jokes are so contrived you almost feel like there should be a laugh track. A criminal love interest for Witherspoon comes out of nowhere, and the scenario is completely out of character for her, but we’re expected not to question it. Meanwhile, a gratuitous faux-lesbian scene had me cringing in my seat.
There are admittedly couple of good lines in this film, and some fun parts. All in all, though, it’s more of a lukewarm pursuit than a hot one.
Kayla Walsh
