Review: Hot Pursuit bombs despite talents of Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara

REVIEW: Despite the presence of star duo Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara, Hot Pursuit is frozen in a chilling alternate universe of unfunniness.

Hot Pursuit (M)

Director: Anne Fletcher (The Proposal)

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, John Carroll Lynch.

Rating: *

The temperature is writhing

Yikes.

If 2015 was not already in the history books as the year that gave us Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 — and cruelly refused to let us give it back — then Hot Pursuit would be the name to drop when discussing contemporary comedy at its most calamitous.

So bad ... Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara in a scene from Hot Pursuit

A majority of scenes in Hot Pursuit are frozen in a chilling alternate universe of unfunniness.

On one side of the screen, you’ve got Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon, dying an instant death every time she opens her mouth.

As a dimwitted cop repeatedly stumbling from the clutches of a murderous Mexican drug cartel, Witherspoon plays the kind of role Emma Stone might very reluctantly take if all of her money and talent suddenly vanished.

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Over the top ... Sofia Vergara and Reese Witherspoon are a dire combo.

On the other side of the screen you’ll find Sofia Vergara, trying to create any finger-wiggling, boob-jiggling diversion she can.

In her opening scene, Vergara has already set her spicy-salsa sass-mouth to ‘stun.’ And yet somehow, her performance (as the wife of a coke baron about to enter witness protection) just gets louder and bigger from there.

Whether handcuffed together, haranguing each other or hammering all punchlines to a pulp, Witherspoon and Vergara are the most dire combo to hit cinemas since microwave pizza and supersized soft drinks.

Originally published as Review: Hot Pursuit bombs despite talents of Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara