You will appreciate your Mom more than ever if you take her to see Snatched. It’s a fun Mother’s Day comedy/adventure that’s gross and silly. But Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn are able to provide laughs out of ridiculous situations and pull it off.
Moms and daughters have issues. In this film Goldie Hawn is Linda. She is divorced and doesn’t get along well with daughter Emily, who always seems to have other issues, too. Her boyfriend has just broken up with her and is not going on their South American, non-refundable, vacation. Emily talks Mom into going this adventure.
Goldie Hawn hasn’t made a film in 15 years. She looks fabulous and says she had a blast. Schumer literally accosted the star when she saw her in an airport telling her she wanted Goldie to be in the movie. Hawn said “Ok, Honey” not taking it seriously, but Schumer kept on her until she finally said yes. Hawn declares “It’s a miracle that this came to me at this time in my life.”
Director Jonathan Levine says he just met Schumer and next thing he knew, he was scouting locations with her. Must be pretty persuasive. Katie Dippold (The Heat, Parks and Recreation, Ghostbusters) wrote the script but Levine says there was plenty of smart and funny input from Schumer’s sister Kim Caramele who plays a shopper in the film. They, too, play well together. Levine likens this film to the Paul Feig and Judd Apatow kind of comedy and almost back to what Goldie used to do. He says she and Amy had great chemistry on and off the set.
They get kidnapped and you know they’re going to get back, but how is the question. Hawn says action comedy is her favorite and it’s fun for her to be able to go out and put herself in compromising positions. She climbs on top of roofs and ledges. It is a physical role and she went for it. Hawn says Schumer might be the funniest woman in the world and really respects her talent. Now they’ve become buddies.
But there are plenty of other slapstick gags too, like spitting out drinks, a Mom slathering on too much sunscreen on her grown daughter by the pool which is not cool, using a dog whistle and getting scary results, going to native doctors in the jungle to extricate a tape worm.
Tom Bateman who plays James, the handsome hunk who lures Emily away from her Mom and then gets both of them kidnapped, says this is the first time he played in a comedy surrounded by women and he just loved their energy. Wanda Sykes and Joan Cusack play a pair of women on vacation who warn Emily and Linda of the dangers traveling around, even with men like James. There is one scene where he says Wanda and Joan (who never speaks on line in the film but is hilarious) made him laugh so much, Bateman asked for some dialogue so he could concentrate on that instead of laughing. Hawn says it was hard to keep a straight face with Wanda and Joan around.
Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Sisters) is funnier in this film. He plays Linda’s son and Emily’s brother still living at home with Ma Ma (French pronunciation). He and Emily fight like cats and dogs. He’s basically an exasperating nervous wreck and when he’s called to try to help his family, it gets worse before it gets better. His relationship with authorities to try to rescue his family is off the charts. His face going through all kinds of contortions showing emotion to get someone to help find his Ma Ma and sister are very funny. Barinholtz goes all out.
There are lots of laughs in this film as the mother/daughter navigate the bad guys who kidnap and lock them up in the wilds of Colombia. Mothers and Daughters have their issues, but these two had quite an adventure which, as in any family crisis, pulled them closer together. Schumer and Hawn make for a modern, classic uninhibited comedy team. It might be fun to see them snatch another adventure.
20th Century Fox 91 minutes R
