In Theaters: The Bounty Hunter

As cold and calculating as the heart of a Hollywood accountant, The Bounty Hunter is the caper comedy that keeps on taking. I've already given it nearly two irretrievable hours, and here I am again, facing the sucking void of the contemporary mainstream romantic comedy and trying to hold onto my pocket change and what's left of my dignity. If the trailer for this Jennifer Aniston/Gerald Butler PR vehicle didn't crush your spirit, the full feature will certainly take care of that, although there's not much more to know: Aniston has a great body (she's 41 you know!), Butler wants to be a big star, and the two of them probably boned in real life.

Appearances must be kept up, however, and to that end we have director Andy Tennant (Sweet Home Alabama) and screenwriter Sarah Thorp to throw a lot of brittle plot scaffolding around the big draws. Aniston plays Nicole, a New York Daily News reporter whose career ambitions naturally ended her marriage to Milo (Butler), a former NYPD detective and current bounty hunter. When a missed court date for a vague police assault charge puts an arrest warrant over her head, Milo is only too thrilled to oblige. Nicole is stubbornly chasing down a story that is almost completely incomprehensible, but has something to do with a suspicious suicide and stolen evidence inside the NYPD. Added to her sloppy intrigues is Milo's bookie problem, which means that he is being pursued as doggedly as he pursues his gumshoeing ex. As you can imagine this makes for many hilarious misunderstandings.

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