The Bounty Hunter Misses Its Target
I just came home from a Wednesday night preview screening of The Bounty Hunter. One word quickly comes to mind. Cliché. The Jennifer Aniston/Gerard Butler romantic comedy, and I’ll use those two words loosely, is about as dull and predictable as they get. I felt my mind going gad during most of the screening. It’s not the worst movie I have seen so far this year, but it definitely won’t have me standing outside Best Buy on a cold Tuesday morning before the store opens to grab a copy on Blu-ray. I say cold Tuesday morning because I have a suspicious feeling that this one will be hitting the home video market pretty quick and it doesn’t get really warm here in Cleveland until well into May. I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before. But I don’t think I am this time.
Andy Tennant (Hitch, Fool’s Gold) directs The Bounty Hunter. Jennifer Aniston teams up this time around with recent bankable box office star Gerard Butler (300, Gamer). What does that make it? Is this like the 20th movie of its kind that Jennifer is in? I don’t know. I kind of lost count a long time ago. But I did go out tonight in support of my boy Butler, but even his performance seemed rather forgetful in this one. He wasn’t as likeable in this as he was in last year’s The Ugly Truth (and I am really stretching here when I say this because The Ugly Truth wasn’t the greatest of films either, but there were some funny moments to be had). Anyway, you get the point, I’m sure.
Upon first encounter, we see our hero Milo Boyd (Butler) in some pretty rough times. He lost his job on the force and is a low life bounty hunter. Now don’t get me wrong. I think the job of a bounty hunter is an exciting career path, but there’s no denying that Milo is down on his luck when we first meet him and this has a lot to do about a certain woman, but of course. Go figure! Anyway, word gets to Milo that there is a 5K bail award for bringing in his ex-wife Nicole Hurly (Anniston) and he jumps at the chance. Not only does he get to torment the woman who destroyed his life, but also the 5K can put a pretty significant dent into his 11K he owes in gambling debts. And so the movie finally begins.
Act II is as cliché as they come with the obligatory inclusion of the B-love story. Who would have ever guessed that underneath all the tension, all the anger and all the mayhem that Milo and Nicole still had feelings for each other? Really? I would have never seen it coming. Not! There’s really nothing you haven’t seen before here folks. Move on. Oh! But wait! Even Gregg Senko will admit this. Guys, if your girls drag you out to see this one against your will and you are not like every other guy who has a man crush on Gerard Butler, then you are in luck. Jennifer is quite easy on the eyes throughout Act II. See. You just got to look for the good in everything.
If you didn’t see Act III resolving like it did, then you are in luck. That must mean you are a romantic comedy virgin. By all means then, run out and enjoy this one! For all others, your dollars will be wiser spent investing in a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive figure and unloading it on ebay a few years later. If you can wait, then I highly suggest a weekend rental some months from now. If not, then make sure it’s a matinee. Have a great weekend!
Is it me or is Jennifer Aniston getting hotter and hotter every year?
I saw her on the cover of last month’s Architecture Digest magazine, and I was like “damn, wuz yo name!”
For reals.
Maybe she’s like Benjamin Button?
BH finished 3rd at the box office this weekend.