Remember when Hollywood couples who were actually together in real life made decent films (i.e. Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier and Vivian Leigh, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis - whoops, omit that last one)?
Now we get couples who are together for a few months but manage to get a movie in, most of which last longer than the relationship (i.e. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Gardner, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, etc., etc., etc.).
And currently, we get Jennifer Aniston with her latest, Gerard Butler ("Phantom of the Opera," "Nim's Island," "300"), in what is basically nothing more than a remake of a bad episode (okay, EVERY episode) of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" mixed with "Mr. and Mrs. Smith (starring another real-life couple) and "Midnight Run," the classic comedy from 1988 with Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro.
If this film were a) slightly interesting, b) somewhat novel and/or c) remotely funny, then I might have enjoyed it - a tad. Since it did not fulfill even one of the above specifications, however, I have to trudge into my office and write yet another negative review for a Jennifer Aniston picture - it isn't something I necessarily enjoy, either.
And, if these two are really romantically linked, then judging by their chemistry on screen, I'd get into counseling posthaste.
Here, Aniston plays reporter Nicole Hurley (not for one second did I believe she came anywhere NEAR that profession, by the way), who is working a story about murder, crooked cops and stolen drugs. She fails to appear in court as ordered. She's arrested for assault on a New York City police officer, but skips bail, causing a plot convenience device the size of the planet Pluto to be put into action.
That device is having her down-on-his-luck ex husband (a former cop, now a bounty hunter, hence the title), Milo Boyd (Butler), go after her. He tracks her down and while on his way to deliver her (he's a gambler, so he takes the scenic route back to NYC, through Atlantic City), goons try to kill both of them.
Now on the lam, the couple bickers, fights, argues and comes as close to sexual tension as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt might have at one time in history.
They escape, but both are marked by various hoods for death. This frightful prospect does not keep the two from engaging in silly sexual high-jinx and stilted wordplay that would embarrass a 14-year-old on his first date. Every situation in this movie has been tried (and usually fallen flat) dozens of times.
I always try to find a few good things to say about any production (only because I know a little bit about the blood, sweat and tears it takes to bring something - ANYTHING - to the screen) and, except for a few minor characters who appear and then quickly exit, there is absolutely nothing noteworthy about "The Bounty Hunter."
I even tried to give some kudos to director Andy Tennant, who was responsible for the quirky "Ever After" and the semi-sweet "Hitch." But, then again, I realized he also directed "Sweet Home Alabama," "Fool's Gold" and now this. I therefore can no longer come up with anything positive to write about Mr. Tennant.
Plus, if 2009 set the lofty standard as the single worst year for comedies in motion picture history, then 2010, already featuring "Our Family Wedding," "Cop Out" and this bowl of slop, may just - as unbelievable as it may seem - lower that bar even further. This wasn't a movie where the trailer exhibited ALL of the good lines, this was a film where the trailer itself exhibited NO good lines.
The only reason I even saw this turkey was because I HAD to. Those readers who have NO such obligation, please - for the love of all that is holy - avoid this like the plague, or at least like "Love Happens."
Now we get couples who are together for a few months but manage to get a movie in, most of which last longer than the relationship (i.e. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Gardner, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, etc., etc., etc.).
And currently, we get Jennifer Aniston with her latest, Gerard Butler ("Phantom of the Opera," "Nim's Island," "300"), in what is basically nothing more than a remake of a bad episode (okay, EVERY episode) of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" mixed with "Mr. and Mrs. Smith (starring another real-life couple) and "Midnight Run," the classic comedy from 1988 with Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro.
If this film were a) slightly interesting, b) somewhat novel and/or c) remotely funny, then I might have enjoyed it - a tad. Since it did not fulfill even one of the above specifications, however, I have to trudge into my office and write yet another negative review for a Jennifer Aniston picture - it isn't something I necessarily enjoy, either.
And, if these two are really romantically linked, then judging by their chemistry on screen, I'd get into counseling posthaste.
Here, Aniston plays reporter Nicole Hurley (not for one second did I believe she came anywhere NEAR that profession, by the way), who is working a story about murder, crooked cops and stolen drugs. She fails to appear in court as ordered. She's arrested for assault on a New York City police officer, but skips bail, causing a plot convenience device the size of the planet Pluto to be put into action.
That device is having her down-on-his-luck ex husband (a former cop, now a bounty hunter, hence the title), Milo Boyd (Butler), go after her. He tracks her down and while on his way to deliver her (he's a gambler, so he takes the scenic route back to NYC, through Atlantic City), goons try to kill both of them.
Now on the lam, the couple bickers, fights, argues and comes as close to sexual tension as Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt might have at one time in history.
They escape, but both are marked by various hoods for death. This frightful prospect does not keep the two from engaging in silly sexual high-jinx and stilted wordplay that would embarrass a 14-year-old on his first date. Every situation in this movie has been tried (and usually fallen flat) dozens of times.
I always try to find a few good things to say about any production (only because I know a little bit about the blood, sweat and tears it takes to bring something - ANYTHING - to the screen) and, except for a few minor characters who appear and then quickly exit, there is absolutely nothing noteworthy about "The Bounty Hunter."
I even tried to give some kudos to director Andy Tennant, who was responsible for the quirky "Ever After" and the semi-sweet "Hitch." But, then again, I realized he also directed "Sweet Home Alabama," "Fool's Gold" and now this. I therefore can no longer come up with anything positive to write about Mr. Tennant.
Plus, if 2009 set the lofty standard as the single worst year for comedies in motion picture history, then 2010, already featuring "Our Family Wedding," "Cop Out" and this bowl of slop, may just - as unbelievable as it may seem - lower that bar even further. This wasn't a movie where the trailer exhibited ALL of the good lines, this was a film where the trailer itself exhibited NO good lines.
The only reason I even saw this turkey was because I HAD to. Those readers who have NO such obligation, please - for the love of all that is holy - avoid this like the plague, or at least like "Love Happens."