Hot Pursuitis a 2015 Americanaction comedy filmdirected byAnne Fletcherand distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures.Written by David Feeney and John Quaintance, the story follows a police officer assigned to protect the widow of a drug Boss from corrupt cops and criminals who want her dead as they race through Texas to avoid detection. The film starsReese WitherspoonandSofía Vergara.
| Hot Pursuit | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Anne Fletcher |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Oliver Stapleton |
| Edited by | Priscilla Nedd-Friendly |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes[1][2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[3] |
| Box office | $51.4 million[3] |
The film was produced byNew Line Cinema,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures,andPacific Standardand was released on May 8, 2015. It grossed $51.4 million worldwide, against a budget of $35 million.[3]It received generally negative reviews from critics.[4]
Plot
editRose Cooper is a San Antonio Police Department officer whose work ethic is too intense. Following an incident in which Cooper sets the mayor's son on fire bytasinghim while he carried an alcoholic drink (after he yelled "shotgun!"), her ineptness in the field has her assigned to the evidence locker.
Cooper's commanding officer, Captain Emmett, gives her a secret assignment to join U.S. Marshal Jackson, protecting Felipe Riva and his wife Daniella. Riva must testify against cartel leader Vicente Cortez. At the Riva home, a pair of masked assassins and a different pair of assassins kill Jackson and Felipe while Cooper and Daniella are upstairs. Daniella grabs one suitcase, containing many pairs of shoes, and the women flee in Riva's car. When Daniella later tries to run off, Cooper handcuffs herself to her.
They are found by Cooper's fellow officers Dixon and Hauser. Cooper realizes the officers are one of the assassin teams when she sees the Longhorn tattoo. They escape and head for Dallas, where Daniella can testify against Cortez.
The women learn Cooper is now labeled a fugitive fleeing with Daniella. A tractor-trailer plows into the car, spraying hiddencocaineeverywhere. Cooper gets the truck driver to drop them at a store, where Daniella and the very high Cooper change their clothes. When the assassins show up, they stow away in a horse trailer hooked to a pickup truck. When the truck stops, Cooper tries to steal it, but the owner, Red, reappears with a gun. She and Daniella flee, find another pickup, and drive away.
The ladies continue bonding, with Cooper admitting her rigid, by-the-books nature has made it difficult to meet a man. They are surprised to find a man named Randy sleeping in the back of the pickup. He is a felon with an ankle bracelet for viciously assaulting his sisters' abusive boyfriends. Cooper agrees to take off the bracelet in exchange for Randy's help. Daniella is pleased to see Randy flirting with Cooper.
Daniella explains her bag of shoes is covered with $4 million in real diamonds, revealing Cortez'smoney launderingmethod. When Dixon and Hauser appear and shoot at them, Randy attacks Hauser, allowing the women to run.
The women hitch a ride on a tour bus until Dixon and Hauser catch up to them on the road. Taking the wheel, they shoot at the crooked cops, and they end up running the men off the road. After they succeed, Daniella knocks out Cooper in a single punch.
Cooper wakes up and sees Daniela talking to the assassins who were also chasing them. We discover she is working with the assassins to murder Cortez as revenge for killing her brother. Additionally, she was not going to testify in Dallas, but instead hired the men to 'kidnap' her before she was escorted out of her house. She leaves Cooper, going with the men to take down Vincente Cortez.
Soon after, Cooper is cleared of any wrongdoing after explaining what happened. Captain Emmett advises her to let the FBI take care of Cortez, but she ignores him.
Sneaking into Cortez's daughter'squinceañeraas a man to get close to Daniella, Cooper tries to get Daniella to wear a wire to get Cortez's confession to her brother's murder. A woman walking into the bathroom mistakes Cooper for a pervert and throws her out. Getting back into the party and running into Emmett, she learns he is working for Cortez. He pulls a gun on her, but Cooper pours alcohol on him and tases him so he catches fire.
Daniella corners Cortez and reveals her intentions to kill him. Cooper arrives and stops her, but when he draws a gun, Cooper shoots him dead.
Three months later, Daniella is released from prison, and Cooper picks her up and transports her out. She surprises Daniella with her old pairs of very valuable shoes. She also reveals that Randy is in the car with her, and Daniella likes Cooper's new "wild side" as they drive off together.
Cast
edit- Reese Witherspoonas Officer Rose Cooper
- Sofía Vergaraas Daniella Riva
- Robert Kazinskyas Randy
- Matthew Del Negroas Detective Hauser
- Michael Mosleyas Detective Dixon
- Richard T. Jonesas U.S. Marshall Jackson
- Benny Nieves as Jesus
- Michael Ray Escamilla as Angel
- Joaquín Cosíoas Vicente Cortez
- John Carroll Lynchas Captain Emmett
- Jim Gaffiganas Red
- Mike Birbigliaas Steve
- Vincent Larescaas Felipe Riva
- David Jensen as Wayne
- Evaluna Montaneras Teresa Cortez
- Bryce Romero as Cooper's prom date
Production
editThe film was originally titledDon't Mess with Texas.Principal photographybegan on May 12, 2014 inNew Orleans,Louisiana,and was set to last for two months.[5][6][7]
Marketing
editThe film'sfirst trailerwas released on February 12, 2015.[8]
Release
editHot Pursuitreleased in theaters on May 8, 2015. It was then released on Digital Download on July 28, 2015, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on August 11, 2015.[citation needed]
Reception
editBox office
editHot Pursuitgrossed $34.6 million in the US and Canada, and $16.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $51.5 million.[3]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $13.9 million, finishing second at the box office behindAvengers: Age of Ultron,which was in its second week ($77.7 million).
Critical response
editOnRotten Tomatoes,Hot Pursuithas an approval rating of 8% based on 179 reviews, with an average rating of 3.17/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Shrill and unfunny,Hot Pursuitbungles what should have been an easy opportunity to showcase Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara's likable odd-couple chemistry. "[4]OnMetacritic,the film has a score of 31 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[9]Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[10]
Peter TraversofRolling Stonegave it 1 out of 4 stars and wrote: "It's all stupefyingly unfunny. Hot Pursuit is one hot mess."[11] Richard Roeperof theChicago Sun-Timescalled it "proof two females can make a bickering-opposites-action-comedy that’s just as lousy and sour as any clunker starring two guys."[12]
Stephanie ZacharekofThe Village Voicegave the film a positive review, with particular praise for the editing: "Hot Pursuit is a quiet triumph of tone and timing. Nearly every scene is cut at just the right point, often topped off with a fantastic kicker of dialogue."[13]
Accolades
editActresses received four nominations at theTeen Choice Awardsfor performances in this film. Reese Witherspoonreceived two nominations,Choice Movie Actress: ComedyandChoice Movie: Hissy Fit. Reese Witherspoon andSofía Vergaraalso received two nominations as a pair, for Choice Movie: Chemistry and Choice Movie: Liplock.[14]
References
edit- ^"HOT PURSUIT(12A) ".British Board of Film Classification.June 17, 2015.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
- ^"Hot Pursuit".AMC Theatres.RetrievedMay 1,2015.
- ^abcd"Hot Pursuit (2015)".Box Office Mojo.RetrievedMarch 10,2016.
- ^ab"Hot Pursuit (2015)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.RetrievedSeptember 3,2020.
- ^Scott, Mike (May 12, 2014)."'Don't Mess With Texas,' starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, starts filming this week in New Orleans ".NOLA.NOLA Media Group.RetrievedMay 13,2014.
- ^Special to the Mississippi Press (May 12, 2014)."Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara in New Orleans this week filming 'Don't Mess With Texas'".Gulf Live.Alabama Live.RetrievedMay 13,2014.
- ^Christine (May 14, 2014)."'Don't Mess With Texas', starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, filming begins in New Orleans ".On Location Vacations.Archived fromthe originalon May 17, 2014.RetrievedMay 15,2014.
- ^McNary, Dave (February 12, 2015)."Watch: First Trailer for Reese Witherspoon-Sofia Vergara's 'Hot Pursuit'".Variety.Penske Business Media.RetrievedApril 9,2018.
- ^"Hot Pursuit Reviews".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.RetrievedAugust 18,2015.
- ^D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 11, 2015)."'Ultron' Has Super Second Weekend At $77.7M; 'Hot Pursuit' Opens To $13.9M – Final Box Office ".Deadline.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
C+ CinemaScore: Women turned up at 62%
- ^Travers, Peter(May 7, 2015)."'Hot Pursuit' Movie Review ".Rolling Stone.
- ^Roeper, Richard(May 7, 2015)."'Hot Pursuit': Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara go way over the top ".Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^Stephanie Zacharek (May 6, 2015)."Witherspoon and Vergara Lift Hot Pursuit Into Hilarity | Village Voice".Village Voice.Archived fromthe originalon May 9, 2015.
- ^"WINNERS OF TEEN CHOICE 2015 ANNOUNCED".Teen Choice Awards.FOX.August 16, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon August 18, 2015.RetrievedAugust 17,2015.
