It’s almost always more fun when A.O. Scott tears a film to shreds than when he praises one. In his screed against Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston’s The Bounty Hunter out tomorrow, he takes the two to task (more Butler than Aniston) for, to put it lightly, lacking chemistry.
“[Butler and Aniston] do not give the slightest indication that they belong together, except by virtue of having signed contracts to appear in this movie,†he writes. “Characters whose feelings are supposed to be at stake are blunted, dumbed-down caricatures of notional human beings, rather than sharply etched epitomes of human behavior. Milo and Nicole broke up because she was too attached to her career, but while Ms. Aniston is able to give a reasonable impression of a person doing a job, Mr. Butler seems fundamentally incapable of giving any impression beyond that of a self-absorbed boor just awakened from a nap.â€
Zing! The whole review is really quite a fun read, culminating with an extended metaphor involving Jason Sudeikis’s character that basically ensures you will never see this movie, on the off chance you were ever even entertaining the thought.