The Bounty Hunter (Columbia Pictures)
Welcome Back, Jennifer/Rachel
For years now Jennifer Aniston has made one clunky movie after another. All that charm and charisma she showed us as Rachel in Friends seemed to have gone out the window. But hallelujah now it is back. Aniston stars in the new film The Bounty Hunter and her character is Rachel Green ten years later.
Aniston plays Nicole Hurley, a reporter who is on the trail of a crime that will make a great story. The only trouble is that while she is hunting witnesses and evidence she is also due in court on a charge of assaulting a police officer. She has jumped bail and a warrant has been issued for her arrest. The bounty hunter who gets the case is none other than her ex, a guy named Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler).
You could probably write this script yourself. The couple still has feelings for each other (duh!). They both get interested in solving the crime. They exchange a lot of barbs/witticisms as they move through the movie. So the movie doesnt get great scores for originality, but having two stars who click on screen can add a specialness to a trite script.
Aniston looks flat out great. She is still in Rachel Green shape and has that bouncy personality we all love. Butler is just as good. In this film he is totally likeable and has much more on screen charisma with Aniston than he had with Katherine Heigl in his last years rom com. Aniston seems to make him less intense, and he makes her more romantic.
You also have to add points for Christine Baranskis performance as Anistons mother in the film. She only has a few scenes but each one is a gem of comic timing. The same is true of Jeff Garlin who plays Milos boss, Cathy Moriarity who plays a bookie, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan who plays a plain spoken secretary.
The basic word to describe the movie is fun. Aniston and Butler are fun to watch as a couple. The silly sequences when she is trying to escape his plans to take her in for jumping bail are fun. Even the efforts to solve the crime are fun. And when the audience is having fun they are enjoying the movie.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity, partial nudity and violence.
If you are a Jennifer Aniston fan, and there are legions of you out there, then you do not want to miss this movie. This time out the old Jennifer you loved in Friends is back and she has a co-star with whom the chemistry is great. They have a wild romp in this film as they try to outwit the bad guys and also outwit each other.
The Bounty Hunter may not be the most original movie ever made but it succeeds just the same. Anytime they want to pair Aniston and Butler again it is just fine with me.
I scored The Bounty Hunter a wanted 6 out of 10.
