''Hot Pursuit'' is a 2015 American

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

directed by

Anne Fletcher Anne Fletcher (born May 1, 1966) is an American choreographer, film director, dancer and actress. She directed the films '' Step Up'' (2006), ''27 Dresses'' (2008) and '' The Proposal'' (2009). Early life Born Anne Marie Fletcher in Detroit, Mich ...

and distributed by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of li ...

. It was written by David Feeney and John Quaintance. Its story follows a police officer assigned to protect the widow of a drug boss from corrupt cops and criminals who want her dead as they race through Texas to avoid detection. It stars

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

and

Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020.

. The film was produced by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, and

Pacific Standard ''Pacific Standard'' was an American online magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years until production of the print edition cease ...

and was released on May 8, 2015. It grossed $13.9 million during its opening weekend and $51.4 million worldwide, against a budget of $35 million. It received negative reviews from critics, and has a 8% approval rating based on 179 reviews on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

Plot

Rose Cooper is a San Antonio Police Department officer whose work ethic is too intense. Following an incident in which the mayor's son yells " Shotgun!", setting him on fire by tasing him while he carried an alcoholic drink, Cooper's ineptness in the field has her assigned to the evidence locker. Cooper's commanding officer, Captain Emmett, gives her a secret assignment to join Deputy US Marshal Jackson, protecting Felipe Riva and his wife Daniella. Riva must testify against cartel leader Vicente Cortez. At the Riva home, a pair of masked assassins and a different pair of assassins kill Jackson and Felipe while Cooper and Daniella are upstairs. Daniella grabs one suitcase, containing many pairs of shoes, and the women flee in Riva's car. When Daniella later tries to run off, Cooper handcuffs herself to her. They are found by Cooper's fellow officers Dixon and Hauser. Cooper realizes the officers are one of the assassin teams when she sees the longhorn tatoo, so they escape and head for Dallas, where Daniella can testify against Cortez. The women learn Cooper is now labelled a fugitive fleeing with Daniella. A tractor trailer plows into the car, spraying hidden

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

everywhere. Cooper gets the truck driver to drop them at a store, where Daniella and the very high Cooper change their clothes. When the assassins show up, they stow away in a horse trailer hooked to a pickup truck. When the truck stops Cooper tries to steal it, but the owner, Red, reappears with a gun. She and Daniella flee, find another pickup, and drive away. The ladies continue bonding, with Cooper admitting her rigid, by-the-books nature has made it difficult to meet a man. They are surprised to find a man named Randy sleeping in the back of the pickup. He is a felon with an ankle bracelet for viciously assaulting his sisters' abusive boyfriends. Cooper agrees to take off the bracelet in exchange for Randy's help. Daniella is pleased to see Randy flirting with Cooper. Daniella explains her bag of shoes are covered with $4 million in real diamonds, revealing Cortez's

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

method. When Dixon and Hauser appear and shoot at them, Randy attacks Hauser, allowing the women to run. The women hitch a ride on a tour bus, until Dixon and Hauser catch up to them on the road. Taking the wheel, they shoot back at the crooked cops, and end up running the men off the road. After they succeed, Daniella knocks out Cooper in a single punch. Cooper wakes up and sees Daniela talking to the assassins who were also chasing them. We discover she is working with the assassins to murder Cortez as revenge for killing her brother. Additionally, she was not going to testify in Dallas, but instead hired the men to 'kidnap' her before she was escorted out of her house. She leaves Cooper, going with the men to take down Vincente Cortez. Soon after, Cooper is cleared of any wrongdoing after explaining what happened. Captain Emmett advises her to let the FBI take care of Cortez, but she ignores him. Sneaking into Cortez's daughter's

Quinceañera A (also , , , and ) is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday. It has pre-Columbian roots in Mexico (Aztecs) and is widely celebrated by girls throughout Latin America. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a (; feminine form of "15- ...

as a man to get close to Daniella, she tries to get her to wear a wire to get Cortez' confession to her brother's murder. A woman walking into the bathroom mistakes Cooper for a pervert and throws her out. Getting back into the party, running into Emmett, she learns he is working for Cortez. He pulls a gun on her, but Cooper pours alcohol on him and tases him so he catches fire. Daniella corners Cortez and reveals her intentions to kill him. Cooper arrives and stops her, but when he draws a gun Cooper shoots him dead. Three months later, Daniella is released from prison, and Cooper picks her up and transports her out. She surprises Daniella with her old pairs of very valuable shoes. She also reveals that Randy is in the car with her, and Daniella likes Cooper's new "wild side", as they drive off together.

Cast

as Officer Rose Cooper *

Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020.

as Daniella Riva *

Robert Kazinsky Robert John Appleby (born 18 November 1983), known professionally as Robert Kazinsky, is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Casper Rose in the Sky One drama '' Dream Team'', the Don in '' Captain Marvel'', Sean Slater in the BBC s ...

as Randy *

Matthew Del Negro Matthew Del Negro (born August 2, 1972) is an American actor. Life and career Matthew Del Negro was born in Mount Kisco, New York, as the youngest of three children. He grew up in Westchester County. He is a graduate of Boston College, where h ...

as Detective Hauser * Michael Mosley as Detective Dixon *

Richard T. Jones Richard Timothy Jones (born January 16, 1972) is an American actor. He has worked extensively in both film and television productions since the early 1990s. His television roles include '' Ally McBeal'' (1997), ''Judging Amy'' (1998–2005), '' C ...

as U.S. Marshall Jackson * Benny Nieves as Jesus * Michael Ray Escamilla as Angel *

Joaquín Cosío Joaquín Cosío Osuna (born 6 October 1962) is a Mexican actor and poet. He is best known for roles such as Rubén "Mascarita" in ''Matando Cabos'' (2004), General Medrano in ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in '' Narco ...

as Vicente Cortez *

John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in '' Fargo'' (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom '' The Drew Carey ...

as Captain Emmett *

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

as Red *

Mike Birbiglia Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

as Steve *

Vincent Laresca Vincent Laresca (born January 21, 1974) is an American actor. Laresca is of Panamanian and Italian descent. He first appeared in film in the 1992 movie ''Juice,'' as Radames. Since then, he has appeared in many popular films, including '' The De ...

as Felipe Riva * David Jensen as Wayne *

Evaluna Montaner Evaluna Mercedes Reglero Rodríguez de Echeverry (born August 7, 1997), known as Evaluna Montaner, is a Venezuelan actress, singer, music director, dancer, television presenter, daughter of singer Ricardo Montaner and younger sister of Mauricio ...

as Teresa Cortez * Bryce Romero as Cooper's prom date

Production

The film was originally titled ''Don't Mess with Texas''.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

began on May 12, 2014 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

, and was set to last for two months.

Marketing

The film's first trailer was released on February 12, 2015.

Release

''Hot Pursuit'' released in theaters on May 8, 2015. It was then released on Digital Download on July 28, 2015, and the DVD and Blu-ray were released on August 11, 2015.

Reception

Box office

''Hot Pursuit'' grossed $34.6 million in the US and Canada, and $16.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $51.5 million. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $13.9 million, finishing second at the box office behind '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'', which was in its second week ($77.7 million).

Critical response

, ''Hot Pursuit'' has an approval rating of 8% based on 179 reviews, with an average rating of 3.17/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Shrill and unfunny, ''Hot Pursuit'' bungles what should have been an easy opportunity to showcase Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara's likable odd-couple chemistry." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 31 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' gave it 1 out of 4 stars and wrote: "It's all stupefyingly unfunny. Hot Pursuit is one hot mess."

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' called it "proof two females can make a bickering-opposites-action-comedy that’s just as lousy and sour as any clunker starring two guys."

Stephanie Zacharek Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism. Early life Stephanie Zachare ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' gave the film a positive review, with particular praise for the editing: "Hot Pursuit is a quiet triumph of tone and timing. Nearly every scene is cut at just the right point, often topped off with a fantastic kicker of dialogue."

Accolades

Actresses received four nominations at the

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...

for performances in this film.

received two nominations, Choice Movie Actress: Comedy and Choice Movie: Hissy Fit. Reese Witherspoon and

Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020.

also received two nominations as a pair, for Choice Movie: Chemistry and Choice Movie: Liplock.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Pursuit (2015 Film) 2010s female buddy films 2010s chase films 2010s crime comedy films 2015 films 2015 action comedy films American action comedy films American buddy comedy films American buddy cop films 2010s police comedy films American chase films American crime comedy films American female buddy films 2010s English-language films Girls with guns films Films about Mexican drug cartels Films directed by Anne Fletcher Films produced by Reese Witherspoon Films scored by Christophe Beck Films set in Texas Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in New Orleans Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films New Line Cinema films Warner Bros. films 2010s buddy cop films 2015 comedy films Films about witness protection 2010s American films 2010s Mexican films