I was going to see King Arthur: Legend of the Sword but in the spirit of Mother’s Day I went to Snatched instead. What a well timed release, this film is thematically perfect for the weekend it came out. I have to respect that – timing is everything and this couldn’t have been easy to pull off. However it does mean that I skipped Charlie Hunnam’s glorious abs to watch Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn get away from bad guys. Was it worth it? Read on to find out.
When her boyfriend dumps her before their exotic vacation, a young woman persuades her ultra-cautious mother to travel with her to paradise, with unexpected results.
After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, I said there should be more comedies. As if in answer from the Universe, along came Snatched in all its hilarity. Well, maybe not ‘hilarity’ as such, it was certainly ‘pretty funny’. It was pretty funny, especially at the beginning, though not as consistently funny as I had hoped. The problem is that, as likable as Amy Schumer is, her humor seems to be based on the fact that you don’t expect girls to be crude or overtly sexual. It’s surprising and amusing when it happens. But it’s VERY subject to diminishing returns. What was funny at the start of a film isn’t going to still be funny an hour in.
It was too bad I saw the trailer for this film beforehand. Though it was a pretty standard trailer, it pretty much laid out the events of the whole film. There were no surprises (good or bad). What you see is what you get. I was hoping there would be more to it – stuff not covered in the trailer. The pacing was a bit off as well, meandering from sorta funny bit to sorta funny bit. I feel like I’m being too hard on Snatched, because there was some good stuff. There were some genuinely touching moments, some character reveals and the family dynamic is wonderful; (again) especially at the beginning.
Snatched’s strength was in its acting. I liked the chemistry between Schumer and Hawn a lot, they played off each other so well. The Dialogue and Character were good. Ike Barinholtz was also really funny. Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack were priceless. This movie passed the bechdel test. Effortlessly. In fact, aside from the Villains, there were very few boys in this film. There was Chris Meloni, though (even if he kept his shirt on the whole time). It’s nice seeing ordinary people can have adventures without having to be Rambo. Also when films can focus on relationships, it makes them more interesting. Though good pacing helps too.
There were some things that struck me as off. I was disappointed to see a film whose primary plot point was how dangerous the world can be for for White People. Granted it’s a message that would play well with the current administration but that’s really no endorsement. There was a bit too much “_______ doesn’t work that way” for me. I mean yes it is a comedy but still – I’m pretty sure South America doesn’t work that way, for example. Or Kidnapping, but then it might be a very different movie otherwise.
So is Snatched worth seeing? Not really. Sure it was funny and occasionally sweet but that sort of thing has been done better elsewhere. And recently. With a tighter plot. I know that Baby Groot and Chris Pratt are a very tough act to follow but still, there was enough there to work with, I felt they could have done better.
Rating: [star rating=”2.5″]