It’s important that American comedies be equally as irresponsible as dramas. Sure, we have a huge problem with xenophobia in this country, but by all means, state the reckless and unfounded case that Americans abroad are in mortal peril at all times. Because, you know, people with a sense of humor need to be paranoid, too.
Cashing in on the success of sleeper hit Trainwreck, Amy Schumer has apparently decided to wield her stardom not unlike a wolf marking its territory. The indiscriminate first choice following her coup is Snatched, a comedy about mother/daughter tourists abducted in Ecuador. That’s Ecuador, home of the Galápagos Islands, and, fun fact—a country that uses U.S. currency. That’s correct, there is no local Ecuador currency; that’s really not a joke. But listen carefully, Yanks, come to Ecuador and you’ll wish forever you had a connection to Liam Neeson.
I digress. Truth is, pulling a message out of this picture is like teaching a housecat to catch a frisbee, so feel free to ignore that last paragraph. Emily (Schumer) is a creature of self-involvement. It’s hard to feel sorry for her when she loses her job and subsequently gets dumped as she is more intent on taking a good selfie than making her life work. The dumping leaves a vacancy in her Ecuador trip, which she fills, eventually and reluctantly, with her cat-lady mother (Goldie Hawn). Things are already going poorly when Wanda Sykes shows up at the hotel pool. Rule of thumb for casting directors everywhere: when Wanda Sykes shows up, the film is bad. Period. No exceptions.
Emily’s trip seems to take U-turn for the good when a handsome stranger (Tom Bateman) decides he wants in on the Emily scene. We can see he’s out of her league; HELL, she can see he’s out of her league, but who’s to argue with fate, right? James (Bateman) even seems not at all
put off by Emily wiping down her junk in a public restroom in an ill-advised full view to the lobby. There’s a warning sign. And it’s only a matter of time before Emily and Linda (Hawn) are Taken, er, Snatched.
Ok, so this is a bad idea. And the trailer is bad. And there isn’t a genuine scene in this entire film. Not one. Not one believable moment. But Lord help me, I love Amy Schumer. TBH, I think Amy Schumer is the most accessible comedian around right now. Her numerous flaws are constantly on public display; rather than hiding from them, this is instead her comic source material making her something of a real-life female Homer Simpson. I laughed when Amy handled her job assisting customers as a customer. I laughed when she flat out refused to be the dumpee. I laughed when she meekly admitted her PIN code of “1-2-3-4.” Hence, this review is about as generous as it’s going to get … perhaps you could call it Snatched from the jaws of zero stars … or simply a guilty pleasure. A very, very guilty pleasure.
There once was a gal who sought fame
With LeBron, she laid bare her claim
And with a cash-in
Scorned in due fashion
She might have to crawl back whence she came
Rated R, 90 Minutes
D: Jonathan Levine
W: Katie Dippold
Genre: The adventures of Homer-ette
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Amy Schumer fans
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Ecuadorians
