The Bounty Hunter

“It’s funny, the little coincidences in life.”

Swift shot:  I hate to use the tired old, “I wasn’t expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised” – so, let’s try something fresh.  I was expecting Leonidas and Rachel Green to suck, royally.  I was expecting chemistry to be so off, only Mrs. Chanandler Bung re-enacting Shelly Winters drowning in Poseidon Adventure could force me not to gouge out my eyes with a theater straw.  So, yea, it didn’t suck that bad, I must admit I enjoyed watching all the character actors really strut their stuff and take charge.  I don’t think I could have worked with Butler without at least one, THIS IS SPARTA, between takes – or with Aniston without one, WTF was Brad Shitt thinking?  So, kudos to those that held their own.

Character actors really saved this film, because while the chemistry wasn’t complete crap between Aniston and Butler, it was a tad . . . off.  It’s hard when two iconic actors try to shed their skin and delve into “zany” roles.  I think zany is probably the hardest type of character to play when you are the lead, and few do it without coming across like immature clods.

Swift note: For those that don’t know, character actors are those poor souls in Hollyweird who look a certain way, act a certain way, and really don’t deviate from that throughout their careers.  My favorite character actor in The Bounty Hunter is Siobhan Fallon, you know her as the weird bus driver at the end of Forrest Gump, or the woman unfortunately married to Vincent D’Onofrio, who later becomes an “Edgar Suit” in MIB, or a few of you from New in Town, which she really nailed imho.  So, she is a character actor, got it now?  Good, I have no patience for dimwits.

So, why didn’t it suck?  Quite simply, the pacing and transitions, and the story was for the most part, tangible.  When the film starts Milo Boyd (Butler) is chasing down a bond-jumper at a Fourth of July parade, Milo used to be a cop but because of his ambitious, smoking hot wife, he quit the force.  Or as he tells it, he “allowed himself to be fired” so that he wouldn’t have to compete with his now, ex-wife, Nicole Hurley (Aniston).

Nicole is a ballsy, creative reporter for this aged media called a “newspaper”, you can read all about them on wikipedia.  She had a little scuffle with a law enforcement officer, of sorts, that earned her a visit before a judge.  Judges, by and large, don’t like being stood up, especially not by know-it-all reporters.  So, as Nicole tracks down a lead outside the courthouse, the judge declares a bench warrant for her arrest.  Of course, Milo pulls the detail, and gets the dream job of hauling in his ex-wife for a 5K bounty.

Milo knows his ex quite well, and being a “damned good cop” – yes, I am sure that was uttered at one point – he quickly tracks up with her.  But, she is in real peril, or the closest to real peril that a PG-13 rating can bring.  Ok, not even that close really, more like a PG rating for the violence, or lack thereof.  Still, it had really funny moments and Jason Sudeikis’ character was so dedicated to his cause, you just couldn’t help but root for him on some level.

If you want to see a fast-paced, gritty action comedy, this isn’t it.  There is little real drama, a bit of light romance, a predictable, yet unpredictable ending, and clever directing by Andy Tennant.  If you have followed his other stuff, you know what to expect from The Bounty Hunter – and you won’t be disappointed.  Like I said before, it didn’t suck, but it also doesn’t manage to impress throughout.  It’s a decent date movie though.