On paper, Hot Pursuit looks like a can’t-miss proposition: a buddy chase picture staring two capable comedic actresses. Unfortunately, critics say the film misses very badly indeed, stranding the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara in a plot of startling laziness and predictability. Witherspoon plays Cooper, a straight-laced cop tasked with transporting Daniella Riva (Vergara) across Texas to testify in court against a big-time drug trafficker. Naturally, nothing goes according to plan, and soon the pair are being pursued by would-be assassins and corrupt cops. The critics say Hot Pursuit is a comic dead zone, stuffed with stereotypes and rote situations that fail to conjure much beyond a stray chuckle here and there. (Check out this week’s Total Recall, in which we take count down Witherspoon’s best-reviewed films, and watch our video interview with Witherspoon and Vergara.)
Part bromance, part drama, part farce, part cringe comedy, The D Train is nothing if not ambitious. Unfortunately, critics say it’s only partly successful in realizing its various aims, and the result is thought-provoking and well-acted but tonally inconsistent. Jack Black stars as Dan, a perpetual loser who ventures from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles in order to convince Oliver (James Marsden), a former classmate and moderately successful actor, to attend their high school reunion and burnish Dan’s reputation. After a few nights of hard partying, however, Dan discovers he’s gotten more than he bargained for. The pundits say Black and Marsden are both excellent, but the The D Train can’t quite find the perfect balance between moments of darkness and light.
