Snatched a disappointing vehicle for comedienne Amy Schumer

There is little to laugh about in Snatched, despite the casting of comediennes (from far left) Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a mother- daughter pair.
There is little to laugh about in Snatched, despite the casting of comediennes (from far left) Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn as a mother- daughter pair. PHOTO: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

REVIEW / ADVENTURE COMEDY

SNATCHED (NC16)

91 minutes/Opens tomorrow/2/5 stars

The story: Emily (Amy Schumer) gets dumped by her boyfriend (Randall Park), which ruins her plans to go on a couple vacation to Ecuador. As her trip is non-refundable, she decides to take her super-cautious mother (Goldie Hawn) as her plus-one. Trouble ensues when Emily meets a mysterious British vacationer, James (Tom Bateman).

On paper, the idea of getting two of Tinseltown's funniest comediennes together onscreen for a mother-daughter adventure sounds like a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, the casting decision is the most inspired thing about the film. Everything else, from the dialogue to the story, is as stale as it comes. Whether it is the family getting closer after the trip or Emily growing up in the process, it is all stuff you have seen before.

Hawn suffers most in this dud.

Given this is her first film in 15 years since The Banger Sisters (2002), there was much anticipation over her big-screen comeback. But she has so little to do that she barely registers. Whenever she does show up, she appears tired or, worse, uninterested.

Despite all the marketing, which pushed the project as a buddy movie, this is, in fact, an Amy Schumer vehicle.

Those familiar with her shtick can expect more of the same - that means plenty of foul language, sexual jokes and scathing put- downs.

While that repertoire works well for her stand-up gigs, the one-note bitter persona here feels grating once past the 30-minute mark.

In Schumer's last comedy film Trainwreck (2015), she played a similar character and displayed enough personal insecurities to show that her sharp tongue was simply a selfdefence mechanism. But there is none of that kind of nuance here, so she never quite redeems herself.

The talents of two otherwise fun and likeable stars have been snatched.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 02, 2017, with the headline Snatched a disappointing vehicle for comedienne Amy Schumer. Subscribe