CriminalBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
If there's a bounty hunter to haul in "criminal" comedies, then The Bounty Hunter" should receive capital punishment for murdering the romantic comedy genre. So far this year When in Rome looks even better now by contrast, and, well, She's Out of My League looks even cute.
But this one is a killer. Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is the titular cop who tries to take his ex-wife Nicole Hurley (Jenifer Aniston) to jail because she's jumped bail. Everyone associated with this film except the talented Christine Baranski as Nicole's cabaret-singing, swinging mother should be locked up. I laughed not even once given that the film is paint by numbers plot about exes who still love each other and fight almost to the end to disprove that situation.
Aniston's only observable talent here is to display a well-tended body in tight short skirt (even though she plays a reporter, most of whom could not go the News Awards looking half as good), and Butler shows he still has his 300 abs, muscular arms, and seductive lisp. After those attributes, the stars are on their own with lines to blush over and set ups trite as could ever be conjured.
A bounty hunter is not a real cop, and The Bounty Hunter is not a real comedy. Both want to be much more than they are but will never be. "Book 'em, Danno!"
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com