Snatched
Director: Jonathan Levine
Writers: Katie Dippold
Starring: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack
MPAA Rating: Rated R for crude sexual content, brief nudity, and language throughout
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After her boyfriend dumps her on the eve of their exotic vacation, impetuous dreamer Emily Middleton persuades her ultra-cautious mother, Linda to travel with her to paradise. Polar opposites, Emily and Linda realize that working through their differences as mother and daughter - in unpredictable, hilarious fashion - is the only way to escape the wildly outrageous jungle adventure they have fallen into.When life gets rough, you get tougher. That's the moral of this story. When a daughter has a non-refundable trip to South America she brings her mother - someone who tends to stay away from adventure if at all possible. Wanting to spend time with her daughter she goes along for the ride. Just not the ride she was expecting.
This movie was HILARIOUS. I could not stop laughing. There were moments when the whole theater was busting up. I swear we all were going to cry our eyes out from the hysterics. This movie is definitely a feel good movie. Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn - not a pairing I would've put together but they work so well together. Amy brings the hilarity, while Goldie brings the class. Yes Goldie has some hilarious lines too - but for the main comedy Amy brings it.
I would say that's because the writing was great. The one liners that were in this film were some of the best I've heard in a film. Ike Barinholtz - he's from The Mindy Project. At least that's how I know him. He plays one of my favorites characters on that show so I was excited to see him in this film. And then he plays just a better version of his character on The Mindy Project which made this even better. But he has the best one liners out of any other character in the movie.
People might be put off by this film - "it's a mother/daughter film so guys won't like it" - this is definitely not the case. There were so many guys in the theater that were DYING. I feel that they loved the movie just as much as I did. Yes, it is a mother/daughter feel good story so I would recommend all the daughters out there to take your mother to see this movie. They'll love it and love that you brought them to see it.
This week marked Goldie Hawn’s triumphant return to the silver screen after a fourteen year absence. Only her new movie, Snatched, wasn’t so much a triumph. By “not triumph,” I mean it was not good. It was not funny. It was not well-written. It was not any of the things anyone looks for in a trip to a movie theater.
Of course, I’m not blaming the quality of Snatched on Goldie. I love love love Goldie. She is a class act. I have seen all of her movies. There just wasn’t any good material for her. Goldie (as Linda) is cast as a dowdy mom stereotype. It was a disservice. I think fans of Goldie love her because she isn't a stereotype. But, in Snatched, Goldie was used for little else than setting-up her co-star's (Amy Schumer as Emily) punchlines.
And the punchlines weren't funny. I found Snatched to be incredibly unfunny. It is more crass than anything. It is worse that many of the punchlines were given to Schumer. Schumer plays the role as stereotypical, failure to launch, spoiled, self-centered twenty-something. The character of Emily unlikable from start to finish. Zero redeeming qualities early-on. By the time that the film tries to redeem Emily, I didn't care anymore.
The only cast members I really liked were Wanda Sykes (as Ruth) and Joan Cusack (as Barb). These were the only original feeling, non-stereotypes. Unfortunately, both Ruth and Barb were relegated to near cameo-type roles.
The plot has similarities to the film Romancing the Stone. It takes place in Columbia. There is a trek through a jungle. There are language barriers. That is where the similarities end. Where Romancing the Stone was original and funny Snatched is tired, boring, overly-convoluted and long.
It was bad. I'm sorry to say it because I like Goldie Hawn so much, but I don't want anyone to see this movie as a celebration of Mother's Day. Don't take mom to see this. Moms deserve better. Goldie deserved better.
If you must see this, wait for it to be on Redbox or some other bargain viewing. Snatched opens, in theaters, today.
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It was interesting to read two differing opinions on the film. I like Amy but not a big fan of Goldie. Although I really want to like this movie, I'm not sure I will.
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