HDTV Solutions.com

M.R. Dinkins
Entertainment Editor
August 18, 2014
HDTV Solutions

"Mindless entertainment."

In unapologetic bold type, these words headlined the promotional press release for The Love Punch.

Yet "mindful casting" comes to mind when considering the leading actors. Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan play the divorced Kate and Richard. Both have uncanny classic comedic skills. (For proof, watch Brosnan's The Matador and Thompson's Stranger Than Fiction.)

The estranged couple team up to avenge a corporate crud named Kruger who absconded with their company's pension fund. Luckily for Kate and Richard, their cyber-cerebral son, Matt, can hack all manner of secure sites and excavate essential info to facilitate their tit-for-tat retaliation: breaking into the scoundrel's ultra-swish über-private wedding to steal his super-extravagant diamond.

Elaborating the shenanigans in this improbable romantic caper, two over-the-top English comedians, Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie, join a bevy of spilling-over-their-tops bikini babes, and the buoyant Louise Bourgoin, as the bride-that-was.

Voilà, you have director/writer Joel Hopkins cinematic formula for an entertaining seniors' flick. While you can surmise the romantic outcome, Hopkins gingerly maneuvers his plot to dodge the expected clichés.

But, in my humble opinion, swimming the Baie de Cannes and scaling its rock cliffs seems beyond the dexterity of four graying stars clad in scuba gear. Just saying...

Where the mindlessness really kicks in is at the finale of the film. Yes, it ends happily-ever-after, but not safe-and-sound. Were a sequel to be in the offing, it would require (at best) hefty prison sentences or (at worst) three bloody murders.

So go and be unmindful...

...and you will have a good time watching two versatile veterans parry and flirt on the radiant French Riviera.

And the boobie prize for the worst Extras goes to...

The two offerings include the trailer and an awkward interview with Pierce Brosnan. He handles the inane questions with grace and patience. You feel sorry for the inept interviewer who, in retrospect, should be mortified by her performance.

Meanwhile, did costumer Patricia Colin dress Brosnan as Kinky Friedman's doppelgänger?

Kinky is the songster/writer/humorist and former candidate for Texas governor. Brosnan flawlessly swaggers the Kinkster's black western gear, his signature squint, the omnipresent cigar and his moody southern accent.

Cowboy Up and Ride.

Studio: Ketchup Entertainment

Director: Joel Hopkins

Cast: Emma Thompson, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, Louise Bourgoin and Laurent Lafitte

Length: 94 minutes

Rated: PG-13

Video:
Aspect ratio: 2:35:1

Audio:
English:
  5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles:
None

Available:
On DVD, Digital Platforms and Video-On-Demand on August 26, 2014