Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 13, 2015

Attempting to make an action comedy, “Hot Pursuit” decides on overkill as a surefire way to laughs and thrills. It’s the latest effort from director Anne Fletcher, who keeps getting hired to helm funny pictures despite a spotty track record (“27 Dresses,” “The Proposal,” “The Guilt Trip”), only here there’s a manic energy to manage. Instead of taking it slowly, developing intricate stunt sequences and massaging punchlines, Fletcher encourages broad antics and chunky pratfalls one would expect to find on an elementary school playground. “Hot Pursuit” isn’t funny or exciting, it’s just loud, gifting stars Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara a holiday to let loose with caricatures, trusting volume to be the cure-all for a dud script.

Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) is a San Antonio police officer stuck in the evidence room, missing all the big cases she’s been dreaming to take part in since she was a child. Handed an opportunity to prove herself by Captain Emmett (John Carroll Lynch), Cooper is assigned to escort Daniella (Sofia Vergara) to Dallas, helping to protect the witness before she testifies against a dangerous drug kingpin, Cortez (Joaquin Cosio). When the simple plan is shot up by assassins, Cooper and Daniella hit the road, hunting for a safe haven before extra law enforcement takes over. Unfortunately, the path to justice is littered with untrustworthy types, leaving the pair to figure out a survival plan, finding help from felon Randy (Robert Kazinsky), while Cooper’s by-the-book police instincts are tested for the first time, worrying Daniella.

Writers David Feeney and John Quaintance are mostly known for their work in television, which is likely why “Hot Pursuit” feels so small. The plot is paint-by-numbers, concerning double-crosses that aren’t hard to spot early on in the movie if you’re a student of action cinema, while the main baddie isn’t actually central to the story, projecting disposability as the screenplay stumbles into its third act. Characters aren’t welcome here, just a thick outline of Type A personality from Cooper, who’s gung-ho but untested, while Daniella is all cleavage and whining, pushing Vergara to milk her weird hybrid impression of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for everything it’s worth. Trying to support laughs, “Hot Pursuit” doesn’t deliver charisma, with the leading ladies surprisingly unpleasant as they tear across Texas, encountering easily avoidable conflicts.

“Hot Pursuit” isn’t big on originality, attempting to channel surefire buddy comedy classics as the polar opposites are forced to depend on each other. Much of the movie plays like a lost Farley/Spade comedy, finding the twosome hit with airborne cocaine when a car-based stash is smashed by a truck (Cooper is quickly overwhelmed by her high), seeking disguise in a deer carcass to cross through cop-infested woods, and encountering a number of situations where the pair is forced to evade encroaching gunmen. One showdown in a gas station bathroom represents the lethargy of “Hot Pursuit,” watching Fletcher attempt to wring laughs from the diminutive Cooper as she struggles to escape through a low-hanging window. To watch Witherspoon hyperactively try to milk laughs from a situation this contrived is painful, made all the worse by the director, who lingers on the stupidity for what feels like an eternity.

While working within what’s traditionally a male-driven genre, “Hot Pursuit” attempts to bring a feminine energy to the slam-bang event. However, a clever reworking of gender aggression and fragility isn’t in the cards. Instead, the script serves up “granny panty” sight gags, shoe worship, cartoon lesbianism, and a prolonged discussion of menstrual blood. Yeesh. Cooper is also a disappointment, with the determined cop pausing her mission to romance Randy -- a subplot that’s utterly transparent and confuses her position of authority. No wonder Daniella wants nothing to do with her.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Being an unrepentantly broad comedy, "Hot Pursuit" isn't something that comes across gloomy on Blu-ray, with the AVC encoded image (2.40:1 aspect ratio) presentation doing a secure job supporting the craziness with appropriate brightness and color. Hues are generally secure and vivid, with terrific primaries on set décor and costuming, which favors bolder reds and blues. Skintones are accurate as well. The feature offers a wide range of detail, finding distances sharp, interiors textured, and faces expressive, preserving the unrelenting mugging that carries on during the movie. Delineation is the only real troublemaker during the viewing experience, with deep blacks periodically slipping into solids during evening and low-lit encounters, losing their shadowy intent.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't as aggressive as expected, with violent and madcap encounters retaining punch, but little is deeply positioned, with emphasis on frontal activity. Surrounds do carry a little directional activity and expanse for gunfire and car chases (which contribute to the low-end), and soundtrack selections are pushed out comfortably, adding to the crowd dynamic. Dialogue exchanges are crisp and clean, managing heavy accents without losing a beat, while shrillness is teased during the acting, but it never carries over to the range, which remains comfortable throughout. Scoring is supportive despite its unremarkable nature. Atmospherics are evocative, providing a feel for the outdoors and echoed spaces.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "The Womance" (3:05, HD) is brief snapshot of on-set camaraderie, where stars Reese Witherspoon and Sophia Vergara put on a show for the cameras, giggling their way through scenes as they joke around and playfully fight (accidentally exposing breasts and underwear). Minimal context is provided, but director Anne Fletcher does make an appearance, trying to match the manic energy of the leading ladies with her own mugging and guffawing. Interestingly, a slate reads "DMWT," displaying the film's original title, "Don't Mess with Texas."

• "'Hot Pursuit': Say What?" (3:46, HD) focuses on language woes suffered by Vergara, who blows plenty of lines as she maneuvers from Spanish to English, triggering giggles and confusion from her co-stars. Witherspoon also has her difficulties, mangling Spanish dialogue.

• "Action Like a Lady" (2:26, HD) is actually a very interesting and all too brief look at the physical achievements of the picture, highlighting the runaway bus chase (where the driver was actually tucked away in the baggage hold), the interstate cocaine explosion, and a hotel room bed fight, where Vergara, to her extreme horror, actually clocks Witherspoon in the face. The short, incredibly random featurette also provides a look at green screen trickery, displaying the line between stage-bound comfort and the crunching metal of stunt work.

• Alternate Ending (1:28, HD) doesn't add anything to the movie or change its story, it simply showcases a faux news piece where characters from throughout the feature are interviewed after their interactions with Daniella and Cooper, sharing their impression of the women. The theatrical cut concludes with a gag reel, leaving this bit of post-mortem conversation more in step with the momentum of the picture.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Hot Pursuit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Hot Pursuit" is a short movie (87 minutes), but it doesn't breeze through action beats and mounting trouble for Daniella and Cooper. The picture crawls along, believing that Witherspoon and Vergara are absolutely hilarious and little else is required to achieve full attention. Fletcher just bleeds all the life out the film, never challenging formula or staging inventive slapstick, once again proving herself ill-equipped to handle funny business.