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Here's a look at the new movie I saw this week.

Hot Pursuit
Starring: Sofia Vergara, Reese Witherspoon, and John Carol Lynch
Synopsis: One of the staples of the past few summers has been female fronted comedies. Since “Bridesmaids” broke out in 2011, female fronted comedies have become a summer staple. They provide good counter-programming to the typically male-driven comic book films and blockbusters, and they provide a chance to cut loose and laugh. Of course, not all comedies were created equal. On paper, it seems like a good idea to pair Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, a pair of talented female performers with typically contrasting styles. But attracting talent to a project isn’t enough — you need chemistry, a story and jokes to make a comedy. That is simply lacking in “Hot Pursuit,” the second big release of the summer season and the first of an onslaught of comedies. The film is one big swing and a miss that will likely have you wishing you’d paid to see something else within 10 minutes of beginning. “Hot Pursuit” is the kind of film built on the back of clichés — Witherspoon's Cooper has a serious Texas drawl and Vergara's Riva speaks with such a thick Hispanic accent she’s hard to understand. Hilarious, right? Another running joke in the film is about Riva’s age and Cooper’s height. Again, hilarious, right? That’s the extent of the jokes here. There are some sight gags, cultural misunderstandings and a clash of styles. Oh, and for good measure there is a whole joke sequence about how men get grossed out and distracted by the idea of a woman having a period. Or how all men get distracted by the idea of two attractive women kissing, even if said kissing is incredibly poorly staged and awkward. “Hot Pursuit” is scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of jokes, and worse its recycling plot ideas from better movies. Director Anne Fletcher, who found some success with “The Proposal,” delivers a clunky, protracted film. That’s somewhat of a shock considering its only 87 minutes long. But when you don’t have a story or any jokes to speak of, 87 minutes can feel like an eternity. The leads in “Hot Pursuit” are talented women who’ve done comedy effectively. Witherspoon has used her bubbly charm on screen in a number of projects, and Vergara is an integral part of the ensemble on “Modern Family.” But here the two don’t seem to fit well together — which is probably largely due to the script — and don’t have much to do. Those are big problems. With a summer dud like this, the only hot pursuit the audience should pursue is the pursuit of a better option.
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, violence, language and some drug material.
Verdict: One star out of four.

Upcoming Releases:

Friday, May 15 — "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Pitch Perfect 2," "I'll See You in My Dreams"

Friday, May 22 — "Tomorrowland," "Poltergeist"

Friday, May 29 — "San Andreas," "Aloha"