Hot Pursuit (2015)

"You're in danger, ma'am, but everything's going to be fine."

"What about my husband?"

"Everything but your husband's going to be fine."

Officer Cooper (Witherspoon) is a by-the-books San Antonio Police Officer.  After an incident involving the mayors son, she is put on desk duty and ridiculed by the other officers.  Captain Emmet (John Carroll Lynch), a friend of her late father, gives her a shot at redemption: escort Deputy Marshal Jackson (Jones) to protect cartel informant Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife Daniella (Vergara) to Dallas to testify against cartel leader Vincente Cortez (Joaquin Cosio).  But plans change when 2 sets of men arrive on the scene and kill Felipe and Jackson.

Cooper and Daniella escape, and Cooper intends to follow her mission and get Daniella to Dallas to testify.  Daniella has other plans and continually tries to escape.  Can they stay a step ahead of Cortez's men and dirty cops and make it to Dallas?


This film has a great deal of potential.  The talent is there, but something is missing.

Anne Fletcher was a choreographer and has directed several popular romantic comedies.  The screenwriters, David Feeney and John Quaintance, are predominately TV writers.  The screenplay and the film as a whole relies heavily on the charisma of the leads.  Reese Witherspoon is an Academy Award winning actress that has a history of comedy roles.  Sofia Vergara is best known for her role on TV's Modern Family, but has also had success in films.  They are an odd-couple, but they have great chemistry and it works here.

The script is all over the place looking for laughs.  The physical comedy works, but many of the other bits just fall flat.  It isn't a horrible film.  The premise is interesting and the talent is there, but it just misses the mark.

Hot Pursuit (2015) 87 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, violence, language and some drug material
Director: Anne Fletcher
Starring: Reese Witherspoon as Officer Cooper
Sofia Vergara as Daniella Riva
Matthew Del Negro as Detective Hauser
Michael Mosley as Detective Dixon
Robert Kazinsky as Randy
Richard T. Jones as Deputy Marshal Jackson