By Geno McGahee
There was a time when I sort of liked Amy Schumer as a comedian, but then she began pushing her political views and I gave up on her. I really hate when a celebrity pushes their political agenda or the agenda of the politicians that have purchased their services. But, since the film “SNATCHED” was free on one of the many premiums that I have in my cable gold package that they charge me up the ass for, I decided to give it a go and put aside my dislike for political bullshit in comedy.
Emliy (Schumer) is working at a clothing store and is ready for a trip to Ecuador with her boyfriend, but she loses her man and her job in one big swoop and is left with two non-refundable tickets to this getaway and has nobody to share it with. When she realizes that she is totally out of options, she decides to take her mother, Linda (Goldie Hawn), even though she is not very high on the idea.
The mom and daughter combo hit Ecuador and despite all these people that call Schumer fat, she doesn’t look bad here. She looks pretty good, and meat on the bones is a good thing. Hawn looks good too for that matter. I’m not sure if she has had any work done, but if she did, it’s certainly better than Cher’s.
James (Tom Bateman) approaches Emily and the two hit it off and starts taking her around. She invites her to take her mother along for their next date and that’s when the two get kidnapped and held for ransom. They contact Linda’s son, Jeff (Ike Barinholtz), and he goes into action. Jeff has been living with mom forever and doesn’t leave the house, but he soon goes on the hunt to save mom and sis.
Along the way, Emily and Linda meet up with some help including former special ops soldier, Barb (Joan Cusack) and her friend, Ruth (Wanda Sykes), who attempt to help them, but don’t do so well. I never liked Joan Cusack. The only movie that I could stomach her in was ARLINGTON ROAD, but here, like in all other films, I found her very annoying and unbelievable. Sykes can be good and she’s pretty good here.
Emily and Linda begin to realize things about their relationship as they come to some realizations. The two recognize their love for each other and team up to take out the bad guys and get to safety, leading to an explosive final showdown. SNATCHED is a decent film that starts off strong, has some issues along the way, but ends up pretty good, leading to a decent experience for the viewer.
It wasn’t as funny as it could have been, all things considered, but it wasn’t as bad as most people are contending. Schumer showed her comedic timing and delivery throughout…something that has been forgotten lately with all of the political commentary. Hawn had a hard time finding her spot here. Maybe she was the wrong choice. I love Hawn, but there was something missing here. She can be really funny and it just wasn’t there this time.
SNATCHED would have benefited from some refinement. This film was a comedy, but it went into drama too much. Had they stayed the course and relied on the timing and delivery of Schumer to carry it, the film would have been better and would have done better. They found the magic at times, but the momentum was never there.
I recommend SNATCHED, but it missed the mark in several areas and wasn’t as funny as it could have been or should have been. Those going for nothing but laughs will get a cross between TAKEN and ROMANCING THE STONE, but it’s worth a watch in the end.
Rating: 6.5/10
