Snatched

Starring: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, Randall Park, Oscar Jaenada, Christopher Meloni
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Amy Schumer) and her mother (Goldie Hawn) take a vacation together but are kidnapped and held ransom.

Review:

Tim: Even though Snatched looked bad, I went into it with an open mind. I like the idea of Amy Schumer being a comedy star. She's certainly unique and not afraid to embrace the twisted. Her starring in an R rated comedy sounded great. Unfortunately, this film is utter garbage. It's just so stupid, so bad, so unfunny. It's a film filled with unlikable characters, unrealistic scenarios, and jokes that continually fall flat. This is a really, really bad film.

The characters are so bad. Schumer's lead character might be occasionally funny, but she's a pretty terrible person. Her character arc is insufficient and hard to believe. She's self-indulged and annoying. Her mom is overprotective and equally annoying. Her brother is a total loser and the most annoying character of all. And we're seriously supposed to care what happens to this family? I wouldn't have minded if they were snatched and never returned. It's such an odd thing. There is something to be said about creating characters that are unlikable yet lovable. Zach Galifianakis' Alan in The Hangover is the perfect example- he's awful and annoying, yet you love him anyway. This movie was never able to achieve that with any of their characters. The balance was off, so we get a disengaged, disinterested viewing experience. That right there contributes so much to this film's low quality.

The cast is okay, but they were saddled with poor characters. Schumer is fine in the lead role, but she's not especially funny. Goldie Hawn does a good job of bringing her character to life, but we don't exactly care much about her. Hawn is probably the best part of the film (which isn't saying much). I typically like Ike Barinholtz, but his acting was way too over-the-top. He emerged as the most frustrating character in a film filled with awful characters. Director Jonathan Levine really needed to get him to tone it down (or rewrite the character). Barinholtz may have a few funny moments, granted, but it's not enough to make up for the issues. It's also interesting that the film chose to cast Joan Cusack (who is a good actress) and then make her mute. And then cast the always annoying Wanda Sykes and give her lots to say. It made no sense. Christopher Meloni actually puts in a great supporting performance, but of course, he's barely in the film. Seriously, the cast as a whole was very underwhelming.

The movie may have a few funny lines and moments, but they are separated by great barren deserts of unfunny moments. Truly, this movie was often hard to watch. It wasn't very entertaining and it just got on your nerves. At various points, something worthwhile would happen, which allowed you to see a glimpse of what this movie could have been. And then, it falls apart and back below the mediocrity line.

Comedies are hard, I've always said that. Unfortunately, you can add Snatched to the list of comedy failures. This movie is really, really bad.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



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