Thursday, Jul. 29, 2010
"The Bounty Hunter"
Jennifer Aniston has so much going for her as an actress. Just look at her, with that quirky smile that immediately makes you like her - a girl-next-door charm - the body of a woman in her mid-20s and some real acting chops. That is what is so infuriating. With all that going for her and she continues to stay in the safe zone with one romantic comedy after another, stifling any creative growth in the process. If you look back at Aniston's movies that worked, you could see a sense of reaching for something more. "The Good Girl" and "The Break-up," both allowed her to successfully play a character with flaws, nailing the romantic comedy aspects while actually acting like someone other than herself. "The Bounty Hunter" has no natural growth. It is a flat line until the time when the director must have screamed, "Now, you like each other!" Aniston delivers her lines like she is waiting for a laugh track on "Friends" and Gerard Butler is making a habit of doing bad movies. His last great performance was in 2008's "RockaRolla," except for a few shining moments in "Law Abiding Citizen." He has also begun to parody himself - assuming the scruffy man's man role in every comedy he does - get a new gimmick already. There are so many areas in this movie that are approached but never explored, from Butler's gambling problem to Aniston's daddy issues to a crooked cop plot that is so flimsy all the scruffy one-liners and quirky smiled quips could never cover it up. Hunt for another movie and leave this one alone.
