Weekly Review -- Amiable hostilities

The Bounty Hunter (2010) -- Have you ever found yourself willing to swear that somewhere out there existed a literal factory that kept concocting generic and ludicrously dull scripts, shaping them into makeshift movies and throwing in a couple of appealing actors into each piece for good measure, before putting them on the shelves for mass consumption? That is what I felt like after watching The Bounty Hunter, the most tedious and unromantic "romantic comedy" to hit cinemas in quite some time. Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is the titular character, currently in hot pursuit of his ex-wife, journalist Nicole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston). Apparently, Nicole had skipped on her bail hearing in order to investigate a story that involves a suicide, police corruption and a tattoo parlor. I kid you not. Plenty of predictability ensues, coupled with feeble attempts at slapstick and even more feeble attempts at laughs and romance. While it starts out innocuously enough, the screenplay stops making sense after about twenty minutes and, about another fifteen later, I doubt that the audience cares anymore, since the director and the writers are unable to decide which direction the movie is taking. The two protagonists are far from repulsive, but they are not exactly people we care about either, being that the movie never gives us a chance to invest in any of its characters. Both Aniston and Butler sleepwalk through their roles, probably all too aware that they have made better choices in the past. Aniston possesses a likeability that can be used in a much more interesting cinematic endeavour, while the same can be said for Butler, whose macho charm is wasted in the thankless role. Why not provide the pair with a fun, innovative screenplay that truly lets them shine? The only sparks here come from Jason Sudeikis as Nicole's obsessive co-worker and Christine Baranski as her diva mother, who make their scenes more fun than the writing allows. Unfortunately, even they are not able to save this film. The Bounty Hunter gets lost in a witless story and tiresome clichés, completely missing its mark in the process.

4/10