Hot Take: Raunchy girl comedy on par with what you’d expect from Amy Schumer. If you are not a fan, don’t waste your time. If you are, take this nonrefundable trip for a few laughs.
It’s becoming fairly obvious that Amy Schumer is a polarizing figure in comedy. There are some comic acts that bring that out of the audience. She definitely has her haters. Take a look at the amount of YouTube videos devoted to dissecting her comedy act and comparing it to other comics accusing her of lifting material. If you don’t know what I’m talking about or don’t care, this bodes well for you finding entertainment value in Schumer’s latest Snatched.
While it is nowhere near her first film Trainwreck and it surely isn’t the critical darling her début was, Snatched features Schumer as Emily, a self-involved, unwoke millennial with a strained mother-daughter relationship and Goldie Hawn as her overly risk-averse mother who, for example, fears for her daughter’s safety in New York because of something that happened in Delaware. After Emily breaks up with her boyfriend, she can’t find anyone to travel to Ecuador with her on a vacation and coaxes her mother into making the trip (it’s non-refundable, after all). Once there, the pair get kidnapped and must escape their captives. Depending on your stance on Schumer, hilarity or annoyance ensues.
Like most comedies, Snatched boils down to personal tastes. Personally, Snatched worked for me. Schumer and Hawn had excellent rapport and Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack worked well in supporting roles. Christopher Meloni who appears in his 13th movie since leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit finally does more than remind that he’s no longer on that show. Coming off such a high like Trainwreck, it is nearly impossible for Schumer to satisfy those expectations and in Snatched, she doesn’t come close. However, there are enough laughs and a breezy 91 minute run time to appease her fans. It’s unlikely to strike a chord with those who aren’t already a fan or sway someone on the fence but then you might ask yourself what are you doing at this movie in the first place then.
“Spoiler Free” Pros
- Schumer and Hawn
When these two are on screen together, they do an excellent job of playing off each other and delivering a believable mother/daughter relationship with enough comic relief to make it entertaining. - Ike Barinholtz
As Jeffrey, the agoraphobic son/brother of the main characters, Barinholtz has a number of funny comedic moments especially in his phone interactions with Bashir Salahuddin who plays federal official Morgan Russell.
“Spoiler Free” Cons
- It’s Not Trainwreck
While Snatched has funny moments, it’s nowhere near as sharp as Trainwreck. There’s a more formulaic vibe to it and a push for gross out comic moments that feel forced. Coming off such a big hit, it’s hard to not compare the two even though they share no similarities other than being an Amy Schumer vehicle. - Is It Racist?
Setting your film in a South American locale and having your lily white stars kidnapped by thick accented thugs isn’t going to do you any favors if you’re trying to not appear racist. Saying “That’s racist!” a few times in the movie doesn’t give you a free pass, either. It’s very likely some will be offended by the film’s portrayal of Colombians and, honestly, you can’t blame them.