Snatched

I struggle to find most mainstream comedies funny. I know that is a hipster statement to make, but I find that the emphasis on improvisation and dialogue to generate laughs played out. That’s why I like Jackie Chan, Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson; their humour not only comes from the dialogue, but also the construction of their films. So will Snatched, the new comedy from Amy Schumer be the one to change my opinion or is it just another middle of the road time waster.

 

Emily Middleton and her boyfriend have planned a trip to Ecuador. However, when he dumps her, Emily ropes her Mother, Linda, into coming on vacation with her. Unfortunately, the two become victims of a kidnapping ring, and it is up to Emily and Linda to put aside their differences to escape.

 

I am just coming to going out and say it: Snatched is bad, it is a bad film; it is a lazy, shallow, mess that didn’t even coax a chuckle from my lips over the arduous 97 minutes I had to endure it. Comedy is subjective, so if you are a fan of Amy Schumer’s Blue brand of humour, maybe you’ll like Snatched, but I found it idiotic and lowest common denominator. The worst type of film I can think of is an unfunny comedy and Snatched is such a film.

 

Now, I am aware of the controversy surrounding Amy Schumer as a prominent female comedian. This is my perspective, I don’t like Amy Schumer style of comedy. That doesn’t mean I don’t like female comedians, I find Mel and Sue hilarious, Tina Fey is a comedy hero, as are Amy Poehler and Sarah Silverman, and Ellie Kemper from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt is perfect in every way. I am also aware of her perception as a joke stealer, but I have never really paid attention to that; people steal cultural things all the time, I swear I have stolen all of my good jokes from other people, I don’t really mind as long as it makes me laugh.  It is not my job to comment on these things, and I don’t want too. I want to talk about movies and Amy Schumer made a movie. I am going to watch this movie as a separate thing in and of itself to tell you, the paying public, whether it is worth you putting your hard earned money in to see it. The short answer is No! The longer answer is to follow.

 

 

The characters are ill-defined if you could call them characters at all. Emily, played by divisive comic Amy Schumer, is a collection of millennial stereotypes and comedy cliches, though they all seem to contradict each other to create an irritating, unrelatable and unfunny character. While Goldie Hawn, of Cactus Flower and Death Becomes Her fame, as Linda is painted in the broadest strokes as a middle-aged, neurotic mother. In essence, it is entirely plausible that there are no characters, we are just watching Amy Schumer and Goldi Hawn galavanting around tropical locals with the shallowest and most poorly explained excuse.

 

 

 

While I may have made the premise of Snatched sound simple, I can assure you the movie makes a hash of that as well. You hate the characters, so all sense of tension during the kidnapping and escape plot dissipates. There are some of the largest plot contrivances and conveniences I have ever scene. Not only that but there are also the worst examples of breaking the Show-don’t-Tell rule of filmmaking that leave the film feelling like several different people went at it at various times during the production with a hatchet. And with budget special effects it looked like a Netflix Adam Sandler film.

Before closing I will say that there were a couple of things I liked about Snatched, I liked the fact that it only had a 97 minute run time, despite the fact it felt like 3 years. I also liked the state department worker who was getting as fed up with the Middleton family antics as I was; Bashir Salahuddin you were a godsend, thank you.

 

Snatched doesn’t work as a comedy, it doesn’t work as an adventure, it feels more like an excuse for the cast and crew to go on vacation to Ecuador and we were forced to watch a slideshow of their holiday photos.

You Can Watch Snatched in Cinemas Now