Hot Pursuit

Petite Reese Witherspoon and statuesque Sofia Vergara--both beautiful, gifted comediennes—waste their energy and talent in this vacuous odd couple-comedy. Uptight, overly-eager Officer Rose Cooper (Witherspoon) is a by-the-book, second-generation San Antonio cop who gets her first chance in the field after she impulsively tasers the mayor's unarmed teenage son when he yells, “I got shotgun,” claiming dibs on the front passenger seat of a car. She's assigned to escort feisty Danielle Riva (Vergara)--a sassy, soon-to-be-widowed wife of a Colombian drug dealer--to court in Dallas to testify in front of a grand jury against a major drug kingpin. But before they can embark, two different sets of assassins appear: gun-toting mobsters and crooked cops. So the women “borrow” a nearby convertible and take off (leading to a Texas APB issued for their capture)—going on-the-lam with some questionable “baking powder” in the trunk of the car. Sluggishly directed by Anne Fletcher, Hot Pursuit is lame, tedious, and utterly contrived. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Womance” featurette with stars Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Hot Pursuit: Say What?” spoof (4 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), an alternate ending (2 min.), and bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (S. Granger)