Snatched
/"This is the closest they've been in years."
Filmology Rating: 1.5 out of 4
Would I ever go on a big vacation with just my mother or my father? Possibly, I have actually never given the idea much thought before. Most of the time I prefer to travel alone if I’m given the option so if I did travel with one of my parents I would most likely do what Amy Schumer does in Snatched and go off and do my own thing while my parents lounge at the hotel room. Basically I would never have to deal with Schumer’s situation of needing someone to travel with to make my life feel more compelling but I understand that most people would need such a person. I’m also not the intended audience for this film as I’m not a member of the female gender and my stated-above travel preferences but I’m a fan of Amy Schumer’s Inside Amy Schumer and Trainwreck was one of my favorite films of 2015, so if I got an entertaining comedy I would leave rather happy.
Emily, played by Amy Schumer, is a goalless woman with very little motivation to actually do anything with her life. She is even dumped by her boyfriend just days before their vacation to Ecuador because he feels that she is a rock that will always drag him down. But instead of trying to improve herself she decides to take her mother, played by Goldie Hawn, on the vacation. The two barely speak but Emily would hate to waste the money she paid so she reluctantly takes her mother. Emily’s lack of common sense follows her on the trip where she needs to decide if she will be a good daughter, let alone a good person.
Jonathan Levine, the director of Snatched, would normally be a name to get one anticipating a film. His filmography is rather short yet diverse but all films have a great sense of heart to them; those films being 50/50, Warm Bodies, and The Night Before. Levine has taken concepts that you normally think would come off as just a usual romantic or raunchy comedy but you are amazed to see the amount of heart that the films have and how some unlikeable characters have a soul that is relatable. Snatched offers nothing that is relatable and Amy Schumer’s Emily is one of the most unlikeable characters I have seen onscreen in years. Snatched is written by Katie Dippold, who wrote the underwhelming The Heat and one of last years most divisive films Ghostbusters, so going in I had a 50/50 chance of liking this film. What I ended up getting was a soulless laughless film about the “bonding” of daughter and mother. I’m going to suggest that Dippold take a break from writing feature films and just go back to writing television which might suit her better. Blame for this film belongs to both Levine and Dippold, Dippold for writing a lifeless film that needs to have more than a few “gags” to keep the actual plot moving, as for Levine he has directed many films as I stated before that have heart and raunch; basically he is a better version of Kevin Smith, so he should have been able to rein in the actors and make something work with this film. The direction of the film is adequate and not distracting but since this is suppose to be a comedy, the film would be judged by the amount it will make the audience laugh.
Do I think that Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn do a good job in this film? No, I do not. Most thespians can take average material and turn in a performance that can be life changing. Schumer’s journey in the film is too predictable and offers such little charm to it that you are wondering if she had nothing better to do with her time than make such a lifeless film. I have never seen Goldie Hawn in a film before but her performance in this film makes me question why she didn’t just stay retired, not saying her performance is horrid but it just falls flat. Amy Schumer is no Brie Larson and Goldie Hawn is no Helen Mirren, when you hire the B level of dramatic actors to pull of material that is written by D level talent then you will only get a C level grade.
The most funny aspect of this film is actually how unfunny the film is. It has one of the most predictable storylines a film could go with, wastes a great director’s talents, and commits the greatest film sin with just being a boring film to watch. If you are looking for a good film about families bonding please go watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 or even The Fate of the Furious and skip this trainwreck of a film.
Rating: Let It Burn
-Jonny G