Movie Review - The Bounty Hunter

We actually got out to a movie last night. Specifically, The Bounty Hunter. I'm usually "meh" about romantic comedies, but this one involved a sarcastic, armed Gerard Butler throwing Jennifer Aniston into the trunk of a car. Sounds good to me.

So...the review...

Entertainment Value: It was cute. Definitely had some "fall out of your chair" funny moments. Overall, it was kind of tepid, but it was entertaining enough to keep me engaged until the end. That...and...Gerard Butler. He was better in Law-Abiding Citizen, 300, and Gamer...but I liked him in this one too.

Dialogue: The dialogue was actually pretty good. A lot of sarcastic banter, and you all know I loves me some sarcastic banter. In fact, there were times when Milo and Nicole reminded Eddie and me of...well...us.

Relationship Development: This is a romantic comedy, so naturally, the relationship between Milo and Nicole was the main plot. And really, it fell flat. The "I hate you, wait, I love you" transition seemed really forced, and they kept going back to "no, I do hate you" before the "wait, I love you" really got off the ground. That's obviously par for the course in romantic comedies, but it wasn't executed well in this film. By 3/4 of the way through the film, I was rolling my eyes and thinking "Jesus, you two, either shit or get off the pot." The way it was resolved in the end left me scratching my head a bit, too, but in the interest of not posting spoilers, I'll just leave it at that. It was disappointing, really. There was a lot of potential for some really cute - and maybe even touching - moments between them, but they were either contrived, lame, or came completely out of left field. And the few that really did have the "awww!" factor were quickly interrupted, shot down, or averted...in ways that annoyed me as a viewer. I should be thinking "what? wait, no!" and sitting on the edge of my seat, hoping they'll recover...not rolling my eyes and thinking "oh for fuck's sake, again?"

Special Effects: N/A

Commentary from my Inner Writer: With comedies, I can sometimes forgive the heavy-handed use of coincidence as a comedic plot device. This one had a somewhat darker subplot, though, which was mostly developed through generous helpings of coincidence. Way too much "right place, right time" crap for my taste. Also, there were multiple subplots that felt really contrived...the thugs coming to collect Milo's gambling debt, the other reporter with an insane crush on Nicole, etc...and the story ended with a lot of loose ends. Not that I mind loose ends (several of my own books end once the main story line is resolved, but a few minor details are left hanging), but this movie simultaneously suffered from "Okay, this could have ended about two dozen times" and "Wait, what? But what about...!"

Overall: It was a cute, entertaining film for an evening out and had Gerard Butler eyecandy in it...but the writer in me was unimpressed.