After fifteen long years without a film, Goldie Hawn made her big screen return in Snatched last week.
Sadly, it was not everything her fans could have hoped for.
Snatched had all the ingredients to be a cracker: Hawn and current funny-girl extraordinaire Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) as mother-and-daughter in a rip-roaring South American adventure.
Unfortunately the plot synopsis is largely the highlight of the film.
There are very few laugh-out-loud moments, nothing to really make the film a memorable cinema-going experience.
The film hiatus since 2002’s The Banger Sisters has done nothing to lessen Hawn’s comedic timing or chemistry with her co-star, but that alone is not enough to carry the film.
The film sees a recently dumped Emily Middleton (Schumer) struggling to find a buddy to join her on her non-refundable trip to Ecuador.
She, after much badgering, manages to convince her over-attentive and world-fearing mother Linda (Hawn) to accompany her on the trip.
Soon after their arrival Emily meets a dashing British traveller and the pair hit it off – but things go awry when their car is hit by kidnappers.
Emily and Linda wake in a dingy cell, terrified of what fate awaits them.
From here the tides turn as the pair make their escape and get into more trouble – quite violent trouble – as they try to return to safety.
There are some moments that draw a chuckle, but mostly the action-comedy is run-of-the-mill.
The supporting cast is satisfactory without being overly exciting: Joan Cusack (School of Rock) plays a former special ops agents flanked by partner Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of Old Christine) also on holiday in South America, Christopher Meloni (Law and Order SVU) plays a daring adventurer and Oscar Jaenada (The Losers) a fearsome crime boss.
The one shining light of Snatched is that is presents a fairly authentic mother-daughter relationship.
The bickering followed by concern, frustration and love rings true and is probably the one thing that saves the film from being a total disaster zone.