Film Review: Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn Bring Hilarity to ‘Snatched’

CHICAGO – This is the Amy Schumer-in-the-movies we’ve all been waiting for… the brash zing factory who has a bit of insecurity behind her adventurous and licentious ways. Schumer teams with Goldie Hawn in a mother and daughter laugh factory called “Snatched.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

There are two names on this production team which immediately give this film some comedy credibility – screenwriter Katie Dippold and executive producer Paul Feig. This was the writer/director team which created another great female buddy comedy, “The Heat.” Like that movie, “Snatched” uses real life (and familiar) action scenarios and has a funny lady riff on them. To top it off, Amy Schumer’s character has a penchant for murdering people, which gets incredibly darker as the story goes on. This is the summer comedy that has a perfect opening on Mother’s Day weekend, especially if Mom likes to laugh.

Emily (Schumer) is hitting a severe life rut. She is fired from her retail job and is financially stressed. However, she still has her getaway trip to Ecuador planned with her rocker boyfriend Michael (Randall Park, in a funny cameo). But when they meet to finalize the plans, Michael drops a bombshell… he’s breaking up with her.

This throws our heroine into a tailspin, which can hopefully be cured by spending a few days with her cat-loving mother Linda (Goldie Hawn) and her brother Jeffrey (Ike Barinholtz), who has a fear of leaving the house. Emily can’t find anyone to go with her on the exotic vacation, so she recruits her mother. The pair successfully land in South America, but an off-the-grid road trip inland becomes the cause for them to be kidnapped. The adventure that Emily has craved is about to begin.

”Snatched” opens everywhere on May 12th. Featuring Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn, Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack and Ike Barinholtz. Written by Katie Dippold. Directed by Jonathan Levine. Rated “R”