Text Size:
A|
A|
A
Email
Print
Some women make bad choices in men. Others pick horrible hairstyles or fashions.
Jennifer Aniston has a habit of opting for awful scripts. Not always, as with "Marley & Me" and "The Good Girl," but often enough and "The Bounty Hunter" is another miss.
It casts Ms. Aniston as a New York Daily News reporter, and it is true that all female newspaper writers are just as tanned, toned, tough and well-dressed (especially the ones on the movie beat). And all ex-husbands in the world look like Gerard Butler, here playing a former cop turned bounty hunter.
When Ms. Aniston's character of Nicole Hurley misses a court date for a traffic mishap to chase a tip about a suspected murder, a judge revokes her bail and issues a bench warrant. It just so happens that Milo Boyd (Mr. Butler) would like nothing more than to throw his ex-wife over his shoulder or into his car trunk and collect some cash for taking her to jail.
- Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler.
- Rating: PG-13 for sexual content including suggestive comments, language and some violence.
- Web site: www.thepursuitbegins.com/
But Nicole and Milo end up running from killers, bookies and thugs, stopping only long enough to take turns handcuffing each other to bedposts and barely ruminating on their short-lived marriage. The audience must believe their mad love curdled into hate but we get little sense of how or why.
Directed by Andy Tennant, whose credits range from the awful "Fool's Gold" to the smart "Hitch," this movie isn't very funny or suspenseful or romantic or action-packed. It does, however, feature Fox Chapel native Christian Borle as a country club caddy who Mr. Butler dunks repeatedly in a pond.
"Bounty" is lackluster and much of the blame belongs with writer Sarah Thorp, who thinks a Daily News reporter would pay a bartender $500 for a news tip. What is this, TMZ? And few reporters can afford or tolerate 4-inch Manolo Blahniks during a work day, no matter how great they make your legs look.
The biggest assets of "Bounty Hunter" are the leads and they are easy on the eyes, with former King Leonidas from "300" shown bare-chested after a shower. A movie can be sold on the appeal of its stars, but then they have to be given something coherent to do -- other than appear in a series of scenes at a racetrack or casino or hotel room.
The bounty on this one? Sadly, not much.
Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
