Snatched – A Review by Cynthia Flores
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Written By: Katie Dippold
Rated: R
Selig Film News Rating: B
Running time: 90 min
Action Comedy
Wide Release: May 12th
Starring: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Joan Cusack, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, Oscar Jaenada
If you are looking for a touching mother daughter film to share with your mom this Mother’s day where the story makes you cry and feel the need to tell your mom you love her then keep on looking because this ain’t it. However, if you’re a fan of Goldie Hawn, who hasn’t done a film since 2002 and has had a mostly PG or PG-13 film career with a sprinkling of R rated films in the early 1970s when she was in her early 20s. And you love Amy Schumer who wouldn’t know what to do in anything other than an R rated movie or comedy stand-up shows that cater to her potty mouth and no-holds-barred humor, then this film is for you.
The film Snatched is really based on a very thin story line about the self-obsessed and floundering Emily (Amy Schumer) who gets dumped by her boyfriend right before their prepaid, non refundable exotic vacation to South America. After failing to convince any of her friends to go with her, she goes home to lick her wounds. It’s then that she decides to take her overly cautious, divorced mother Linda (Goldie Hawn) with her. She leaves her annoying grown brother Jeffery (Ike Barinholtz) who lives with his “Muh-mah” and deals with his agoraphobia. Once they hit the resort they meet two women that will come in handy later — Barb (Joan Cusack), a mute retired Special Forces chick and her platonic friend Ruth (Wanda Sykes) who loves to chat chat chat. Emily also meets a handsome well-traveled young man at the bar. He gives Emily a night of dancing and drinking that she has always dreamed of. She is crushing hard on him when he suggests that he take her and her mother Linda for a tour of the place via the back roads. This guy does not so easily charm Linda but it’s too late. He sets them up to be kidnapped by Morgado (Oscar Jaenada) and his gang and the movie turns into an adventurous road trip along the lines of The Hangover films, very unbelievable and silly with lots of witty banter.
For the last part of the film there is blood shed, murder, narrow escapes into the amazon, and weird brother Jeffery annoying the feds into mounting a rescue. As well as a scene involving the manual removal of Emily's tape worm that will have you squirming in your seats.
This movie Snatched is not for the easily offended. It’s not a movie you’ll really remember after the credits roll. The film never really makes you believe that Emily and Linda are actually family. Just because they are both blondes they expect us to just go with it. I didn’t hate this movie at all I just didn’t love it. I did, however, enjoy seeing the great Goldie Hawn eat up the screen with her comic beats and seeing Joan Cusack, without even speaking a word, steal every scene she and Wanda Sykes are in. I want to see a movie with just those two ladies in it.
Bottom line, the boys have been making raunchy R rated silly films since the days of Animal House, so I could stand to see more of these female led comedies come out of Hollywood; only next time, with a stronger story line please.
