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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics 'Guitar Player' book recalls the heady days of the '70s and '80s Ashland budget proposal says solar power could attract investment Ashland High School water polo club seeks yard sale donations Final Ashland Middle School band concert of the school year set for May 20 Education Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Silvio Calabi: Taxis and traffic in the olde worlde Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved State News Lack of snow nixes ski portion of popular Central Oregon race Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Runners to follow historic salmon migration path Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Kenneth Lee Nichols R. Charles "Charlie" Snyder Death Notices Harry D. Detwiler Death Notices Shareable Sports Latest Stories Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Chris Singleton: No need for a rematch Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team High school Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Southern Oregon University Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Voices Latest Stories Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask James Jackson: Who’s driving your fear? Landgren cartoon: What the frack? Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Editorial Our View: Forest work is a bargain Our View: What price history? Our View: Waging peace after war Our View: Rail car roulette Our View: Reading the tea leaves Letters Letters to the Editor, May 8 Letters to the Editor, May 6 Letters to the Editor, May 5 Letters to the Editor, May1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Columns Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Matthew T. Mangino: Aging prisoners: An American crisis Jeffrey Gillespie: Is there a right to offend? Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability 'Arsenic and Old Lace' has killer charm Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Community Blog: Inspiration is the Oxygen of our Survival Inner Peace: Satyam, shivam, sundram (truth, consciousness, joy/beauty) Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up Health Watch: Easy tips to drink more water throughout the day Orthodox Church raising funds to build new home Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 ... Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 ... Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics ... Ashland Calendar, Saturday, May 9 ... Movie review: 'Hot Pursuit' is a hot mess By Christopher Lawrence The Las Vegas Review-Journal DailyTidings.com By Christopher Lawrence The Las Vegas Review-Journal Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Christopher Lawrence The Las Vegas Review-Journal Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Early in “Hot Pursuit,” when the characters played by Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara are on the run in a classic convertible, it’s easy to think of that iconic duo from “Thelma & Louise.” It’s even easier to hope they suffer a similar fate. There’s nothing in “Hot Pursuit” to justify the price of a Redbox rental, let alone a full-price movie ticket. It’s little more than 87 minutes of bickering, embarrassing physical comedy, lazy insults and man shaming. But at least it’s awful in a genial way, compared to that angry, dead-inside feeling you got from watching “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.” Officer Cooper (Witherspoon) — yes, for the majority of the movie, her first name is Officer — grew up in the back seat of her dad’s squad car. When a first date with a guy she met on ChristianMingle.com goes badly, she brandishes her gun. And she’s been exiled to evidence lockup for having tasered the mayor’s son and set him on fire because she overheard him claiming his buddy’s passenger seat by “calling shotgun,” and she thought that meant he was armed. But when it comes time to transport crime boss Felipe Riva (Vincent Laresca) and his wife, Daniela (Vergara), across Texas to testify against a drug lord, Cooper is brought in because regulations require the presence of a female officer. You know, in case Mrs. Riva has any “lady problems” along the way. Before Cooper and the detective (Richard T. Jones) in charge can take custody of the Rivas, they’re ambushed, and Mr. Riva and the detective are killed. When Cooper and Mrs. Riva — for the majority of the movie, her first name is Mrs. — flee the scene, they’re branded as fugitives. For reasons that may be as simple as the fact that Cooper’s a cop and Riva’s the widow of a crime boss, the two never get along. But the odd couple pairing — Riva’s tall and sexy; Cooper’s “teeny tiny” and boyish — never pays off because neither character even remotely resembles a human being. Cooper comes off like an asexual robot, commandeering everything in sight and relying on awkward syntax, as when she asks Riva if she’s “concealing a communication device in your chestal area.” Riva, meanwhile, is basically “Modern Family’s” Gloria cranked up to 11 and stripped of any likability. But at least Vergara is on familiar ground for her first big-screen vehicle, because so much of “Hot Pursuit” feels like a sitcom. Although not the clever, Emmy-winning kind to which she’s accustomed. Directed by Anne Fletcher (“The Proposal”), “Hot Pursuit” was written by sitcom veterans David Feeney and John Quaintance. They worked together on Fox’s gone-too-soon “Ben and Kate,” but their combined resumes include the likes of “According to Jim,” “Whitney,” “Bad Judge” and nine episodes of “Joey.” Raise your hand if you knew there even were nine episodes of “Joey.” “Hot Pursuit” paints its male characters as idiots. Cooper and Riva escape from a couple of crooked detectives (Michael Mosley, Matthew Del Negro) — fully grown, adult detectives, mind you — by explaining menstruation and grossing them out. Yet in most cases, it makes its leading ladies demean themselves to drive home that point. When they need to pay for a new wardrobe at a convenience store without being recognized, Riva somehow manages to expose even more cleavage than usual to distract the cashier. And when they’re held at gunpoint by a farmer (Jim Gaffigan), they make out — awkwardly and horribly — so he won’t call the police. Not surprisingly for a movie that tries to wring comedy out of raccoon herpes and performing the Heimlich maneuver on a dog, Gaffigan gets one of its most genuine laughs simply by exclaiming, after he injures a finger, “My banjo hand!” “Hot Pursuit” pulls off a couple of amusing bits involving the leads, but there are far too few to justify spoiling them. Witherspoon knows good material. She developed “Wild” and “Gone Girl.” But this is about as far from good as she’ll hopefully ever stray. It barely even qualifies as material. For some of you, the sight of the curvaceous Vergara wrestling with Witherspoon or running around in a “Butter My Biscuit” T-shirt will be enough. But for everyone else, “Hot Pursuit” is a hot mess. Review: “Hot Pursuit,” 87 minutes. Rated PG-13; sexual content, violence, language and some drug material. Grade: D+. By Christopher Lawrence The Las Vegas Review-Journal DailyTidings.com By Christopher Lawrence The Las Vegas Review-Journal Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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