It’s a big holiday weekend, so Hollywood has concocted a new flick that’s a perfect match for that very special day. It’s an ode to mothers everywhere, but it’s not sugary and sappy, no hearts and flowers here. That’s because it’s the sophomore feature film from Amy Schumer, so it’s more than a touch tart and spicy. Two years ago the superstar of stand-up and cable TV (the critical and ratings darling of Comedy Central) stormed the multiplex with the hit comedy romance (which she wrote) TRAINWRECK. For this follow-up , she’s decided to share the screen (top billing, above the title in the ads) with a movie veteran. Of course, she had terrific co-stars in her previous flick (Bill Hader, future Oscar-winner Brie Larson and NBA icon LeBron James, for gosh sake). But this time Amy’s part of a team similar to what another funny lady did a couple of years back with TAMMY. Melissa McCarthy hit the road with Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon as her grandma’, complete with silver wig. And now Ms. Schumer’s on-screen mum in another Oscar-winner we’ve not seen in movies for fifteen years (that 2002 comedy co-starred her with Sarandon, oddly enough), the still adorable Goldie Hawn, In her screen return she and Amy embark on a dream vacation that becomes a nightmare when they get SNATCHED.
Thirty-something Emily Middleton (Schumer) is having a truly awful day. First she gets fired from her 9 to 5 retail gig, but this just gives her more time to prepare for her trip to Ecuador with her (wannabe’) rock star boyfriend Michael (Randall Park). But then he dumps her at brunch. She slumps back to her big city apartment to announce the break-up on social media. Her mother immediately chimes in with messages of support (“You’ve still got two years to find someone else”). Mom Linda (Hawn) lives in the suburban family home along with two felines (could she be on her way to “crazy cat-lady town”?) and her needy agoraphobic adult son Jeffrey (Ike Barinholtz), protected by a plethora of door locks and chains. Meanwhile Emily desperately tries to find someone to join her on the trip (the tix are non-refundable). No takers, so it’s off to mum’s house to re-charge. One night, she discovers an old photo album in the closet. Emily is stunned to find dozens of faded snapshots of Linda exploring the world, a real happenin’ chick! Why not take her to South America. After much cajoling and pleading, Linda is on her way to Ecuador with her Em’. But just hours after checking in at the luxury hotel, Emily needs a breather from mom. Down at the cocktail lounge she attracts the attention of a sexy, scruffy Brit named James (Tom Bateman). With little prodding, Emily joins him for an adventure, At the end of the boozy night, James insists that Emily and her mother join him for an “off-the-beaten-track” daytime excursion. Again, Linda gives in to her daughter, and they pile into James’ Jeep in search of double rainbows. But mom is alarmed when James drives them through seedy neighborhoods. Suddenly a van rams into them. When the ladies come to, they’re in a dank concrete bunker. They’ve been kidnapped by the notorious Morgado (Oscar Jaenada), who uses their IDs to call Jeffery and demand a 100 grand ransom. Can the Middleton ladies escape their abductors and somehow get back to the states?
For her second feature film lead, Schumer tweaks her stand-up comic persona to make Emily into a prime example of (as the young people say) a “hot mess”. Unlike her TRAINWRECK role, this time she’s not as confident and focused, professionally or romantically. And she’s more than a bit clueless, constantly taking “selfies” and wondering why the world hasn’t noticed her “fabulous-ness”. Schumer shows off her great comic “chops” in the hysterical break-up scene when she tries to retroactively take control of the situation (“No, I’m breaking up with you…first!”). Though the film’s biggest delight is the welcome return of Ms. Hawn. She’s both aggravating and endearing as Linda, a mature woman who’s almost given up (she still is tempted by the dating “pop-ups” on her laptop). When Linda finally leaves her comfort zone, she’s more aware of her surroundings than her flighty off-spring. Though she complains of “weak angles”, Hawn transforms Linda into a full-fledged action hero, one that still has much to teach her daughter. By the film’s end, we’re rewarded by that endearing “twinkly” smile and the decades melt away with our “Cactus flower” in full bloom once more.
Luckily the ladies are supported by an exceptionally funny and talented group. Their best sparring partner may be Barinholtz (also terrific in the NEIGHBORS flicks and SISTERS) as the clingy Jeffrey, whose screeches of “Ma-ma! Ma-ma!” are hysterical while grating like fingernails on a chalk board. He’s also a great comic cohort to Bashir Salahuddin as the burly, exasperated fed whose cool demeanor detonates after the constant barrage of calls from Jeffrey. Christopher Meloni, best known as a TV cop, gets great mileage out of a small role, as a vacationing America who fancies himself a skilled jungle guide, but is even more out of his element than the lead duo. Park is comically cold as Em’s ex, while Bateman oozes oily charm as the much-too-good-to-be-true James. But aside from Amy and Goldie another pair of funny ladies steal several scenes. Wanda Sykes is a surly, down-beat motormouth delight as tourist Ruth, while her “platonic pal” Barb doesn’t speak at all. As the mute “ex-special ops” agent Joan Cusak is a visual marvel, equals parts Buster Keaton and Harpo Marx.
Director Jonathan Levine (THE NIGHT BEFORE, 50/50) keeps the laughs coming at a fast pace, whether it’s a verbal smack-down or a taunt bit of slapstick action. Unlike many comedies, this one seems to avoid the dreaded second act lull, due perhaps to the quick cutting between the ladies’ jungle trek and Jeffrey’s fowl-ups back home. Credit goes to screenwriter Katie Dippold (THE HEAT and last year’s GHOSTBUSTERS reboot) for spreading out the jokes over a familiar action/thriller framework. But the bad guys don’t all dust themselves off after getting conked on the noggin and seeing stars. This is a comedy with a pretty high body count (perhaps as a parody of TAKEN-like potboilers). And somehow amid all the chaos and calamity, there’s a rather sweet family love story. One girl finally becomes a woman while another discovers the fun-loving girl inside her. So after you’ve treated mom to a tasty Sunday brunch, top off her day with the often raunchy, but ultimately heartwarming teaming of two “golden” gals in SNATCHED. And spring for the large popcorn, she’s worth it!
4.5 Out of 5
