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The Bounty HunterDirector: Andy Tennant

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Giovanni Perez, Joel Garland

Scheduled release: 13 May

It’s a simple concept: Cast two of Hollywood’s hottest actors, GerardButler and Jennifer Aniston, in a zany situation – Butler is a bountyhunter who has to arrest Aniston, his ex-wife – and watch themsquirm as they reluctantly, but eventually, fall in love all over again.It’s a formula for romantic comedy gold, but The Bounty Hunterscrews it up with a miscalculated story, useless subplots and a lackof anything resembling chemistry between Butler and Aniston.

The movie opens with a down-on-his-luck Butler chasing a bounty inthe middle of a Fourth of July parade (in what is the first of manyBenny Hill-style chase sequences). Though he nabs his mark,Butler’s not happy – the Fourth of July is a reminder of his failedmarriage. That makes it the perfect weekend for him to track downhis journalist ex-wife (Aniston), who skipped out on her court dateto catch a big break in a suicide-turned-homicide news story.

The plot is contrived, to be sure, but forgivable, since its main aim isto get the two leads together so we can watch the sparks fly.Unfortunately, once Butler has Aniston in handcuffed custody, theonly sparks that fly are from a Taser. Instead of letting the couplecreate their own sexual-tension filled problems, director AndyTennant has them running from the drug dealers chasing Aniston,the vile bookies chasing Butler, and Aniston’s co-worker (JasonSudeikis), who serves no other purpose than to annoy both theprotagonists and the audience. The inconsistent story is riddled withholes and supported by the weak subplots. With Butler and Aniston’srelationship vying for screen time, none of the storylines get enoughattention to make The Bounty Hunter fun, let alone watchable. Itdoesn’t help that Tennant’s ultra contemporary style of quick cutsand zooms backed by a pop soundtrack that was likely to be datedby the time it hits theatres, leaves the film feeling like a choppymess of scenes rather than a connected story.

The story distractions might be a blessing in disguise, as the carchases and gunplay are more exciting than Butler and Aniston’srelationship. When the two stars finally have a minute to catch theirbreaths and say more than two words to each other, they talk inveiled relationship references and clichés that land with a thud.Writer Sarah Throp’s dialogue is like overheard conversations ratherthan an invitation into the lives of these characters. We only hearsurface-level relationship jabs – he’s a jerk, she’s a workaholic – andget no clue why these two got together and split in the first place.

Despite all that’s working against them, Butler’s charm and Aniston’sclass could have saved the movie, but their producer-arrangedmarriage has no passion or excitement. This is not the fiery Anistonfrom The Break-Up, and Butler’s cockiness fits better with 299shirtless men. Both actors give performances on autopilot - aromantic comedy is built from the relationship of its leads, and allThe Bounty Hunter has to work with are blank stares. Jason Morgan

The Private Lives of Pippa LeeDirector: Rebecca Miller

Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Blake Lively, Mike Binder, Alan Arkin,

Keanu Reeves, Maria Bello, Zoe Kazan, Winona Ryder

Scheduled release: 13 May

If there was an Oscar for ‘Most Cathartic Fingerbang By Jesus’, ThePrivate Lives of Pippa Lee would have it locked down, as iteconomically introduces our heroine, Pippa Lee (Robin Wright Pennlooking more and more like Glenn Close with age), and most of thesupporting cast in a simple, tightly written scene. The Lees (Pennand a casually charming Alan Arkin) have just moved into a newhouse in the suburbs, and are being toasted by their best friendSam (Mike Binder). Sam calls Pippa ‘an enigma’, she tells us invoiceover that she ‘wants to be known’, and we’re off.

The story flashes back and forth between the present day as Pippastarts to break out of her housewife mould and her past (playedthere by Blake Lively, slightly out of her depth against theaccomplished supporting cast). You can write the story, and almostevery plot point of the movie, yourself from there: a domineeringmother, played cartoonishly by Maria Bello; free spirit years withJulianne Moore (clearly having fun) and finally buttoning up as ahousewife with father figure Alan Arkin.

In the present, Pippa is acting out, and bonds with similar lost soulKeanu Reeves who, wait for it, has a giant tattoo of Jesus on hischest and whose method of praying may involve his fingers andsome banging. Because if you need someone to play the one truesaviour of mankind, the short list is Keanu Reeves and Jim Caveziel.

The movie shouldn’t work, as it’s a cartoonish mélange of stockcharacters and clichés. Except... it totally does. In fact, it mighthave the most purely enjoyable female-driven ensemble since FriedGreen Tomatoes or A League of Their Own. Credit Director/WriterRebecca Miller, who adapts from her own novel (a recipe for disasteris somehow avoided), and who brings a sure hand to both thelensing and pacing. Other than a saggy bit in the third act, themovie moves briskly along, actually becoming funnier and moreengaging as it goes. In particular, Winona Ryder, playing Pippa’sfriend and Sam’s girlfriend, is better in the third act of this moviethan she has been on screen in decades.

And anchoring the cast, Robin Wright Penn is superb, making uscare about Pippa and wanting to see her succeed, even when herstory may be one we’ve seen a million times before. Rebecca Millereven seems to know this, and makes it clear that Pippa is anunreliable narrator of her own past, that she may be movie-fying itup, and only remembering things as she wants to.

Always clichéd, but never trite, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee isdelightful, funny, heartfelt and a must-see for fans of finger bangingeverywhere. Alexander Zalben