Witherspoon, Vergara team up for a Hot Pursuit

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” seems to be the key message in the new comedy Hot Pursuit out now in theaters, starring Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line, Wild) and Sofía Vergara (Chef, TV’s Modern Family).

In the film, Daniella Riva (Vergara) appears to be the stereotypical Latina bombshell, but underneath all the makeup and tight clothing, Riva is a smart and tough cookie who knows how to use her physical assets to get exactly what she wants. Witherspoon’s Cooper is an uptight, socially awkward and by-the-book officer, who grew up as the daughter of a well-respected police officer. Her one goal in life is to honor her late father’s memory by being a respected and good cop.

Cooper is finally given the chance to prove herself worthy when she’s assigned the task of protecting Riva, wife to mob boss Felipe Riva who is set to testify against Vicente Cortez, but all is not what it seems, and the two end up racing across Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.

Riva and Cooper, who are bound together and at times literally handcuffed to one another, are complete opposites in every way, but in their desire to stay alive, each realizes that the other is more than what she seems on the surface, and a tenuous friendship develops between the two.

Rounding out the cast are Matthew Del Negro and Michael Mosley as Detectives Hauser and Dixon, John Carroll Lynch as Captain Emmitt who gives Cooper a chance to “get off the bench” and prove herself as a cop, and Richard T. Jones as Detective Jackson. Comedians Jim Gaffigan and Mike Birbiglia bring additional comic relief to the movie with Gaffigan as Red who encounters the “wanted criminals” on his farm, and Birbiglia as Cooper’s date in the beginning of the film.

Directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal and 27 Dresses), and executive-produced by Witherspoon and Vergara, Hot Pursuit is a fun and lighthearted summer romp where you can kick back, relax, and laugh the day away.