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Hot Pursuit
Paramount // PG-13 // February 19, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
One of the few pictures directed by "Tron" helmer Steven Lisberger before or after that landmark film, "Hot Pursuit" is fairly enjoyable, but one of the least inspired of John Cusack's 80's comedies. Cusack stars as student Dan Bartlett, in love with his rich girlfriend, Lori Cronenberg (Wendy Gazelle). The two have plans for an island vacation together, but Dan needs to study first for his Chemistry exam. Things don't go according to plan and Dan winds up with a grade that's considerably less than he expected, resulting in cancelled plans - Lori goes with her family, leaving him behind.
Dan's professor is understanding of the situation and lets him go. Thus begins a series of near-misses as Dan runs across the islands attempting to meet up with his girlfriend. Usually, this sort of comedic caper might generate a few laughs, but "Hot Pursuit" takes too long to get going and the situations that Cusack's character runs into are fairly dull. As per usual, Cusack throws himself into the role with energy, but he's alone in that regard - none of the other performers seem very interested. In particular, Ben Stiller (whose father also has a supporting role) offers a weak debut performance that almost seems like parody - thankfully, his comedic timing has improved since.
"Hot Pursuit" doesn't offer that much intense pursuit; Cusack spends a great deal of time on a boat through the mid-section of the picture - sailboats don't exactly make for exciting chases. Eventually, Dan has the chance to prove himself and save his girlfriend and her family from bandits, but overall, "Hot Pursuit" becomes a long 92 minutes. It's harmless, but it really could have been considerably better than the final product, especially in regards to the director's script.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount presents "Hot Pursuit" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Given that this is a low-budget picture from the late 80's, I really didn't expect anything particularly stunning. What I saw was, surprisingly, a pretty enjoyable presentation, if nothing too remarkable. The picture remained pleasantly crisp and well-defined throughout, with a few moments that seemed slightly on the dark side, but no considerable softness.
Slight grain was present throughout, but remained minor enough to not be very noticable. A few light traces of pixelation and edge enhancement were also seen, but didn't cause much irritation. A stray print flaw or two appeared, but pleasantly, there were no more than a couple of specks. Colors remained rather lifeless throughout the opening quarter, but the rest of the movie became brighter and more vivid once the film reaches the island locations.
SOUND: "Hot Persuit" is presented in a pleasant, but very basic Dolby 2.0 track. The score is incredibly dated at this point, but remains clear and crisp, as does the film's dialogue.
MENUS: Very basic film-themed images serve as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Nothing. Not even a trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Hot Pursuit" might merit a rental from fans of Cusack, but he's done better work in much better films, such as "Grosse Pointe Blank" or "Say Anything". Paramount's DVD is strictly bare-bones, with an enjoyable presentation of the movie, but nothing else for $24.99.
One of the few pictures directed by "Tron" helmer Steven Lisberger before or after that landmark film, "Hot Pursuit" is fairly enjoyable, but one of the least inspired of John Cusack's 80's comedies. Cusack stars as student Dan Bartlett, in love with his rich girlfriend, Lori Cronenberg (Wendy Gazelle). The two have plans for an island vacation together, but Dan needs to study first for his Chemistry exam. Things don't go according to plan and Dan winds up with a grade that's considerably less than he expected, resulting in cancelled plans - Lori goes with her family, leaving him behind.
Dan's professor is understanding of the situation and lets him go. Thus begins a series of near-misses as Dan runs across the islands attempting to meet up with his girlfriend. Usually, this sort of comedic caper might generate a few laughs, but "Hot Pursuit" takes too long to get going and the situations that Cusack's character runs into are fairly dull. As per usual, Cusack throws himself into the role with energy, but he's alone in that regard - none of the other performers seem very interested. In particular, Ben Stiller (whose father also has a supporting role) offers a weak debut performance that almost seems like parody - thankfully, his comedic timing has improved since.
"Hot Pursuit" doesn't offer that much intense pursuit; Cusack spends a great deal of time on a boat through the mid-section of the picture - sailboats don't exactly make for exciting chases. Eventually, Dan has the chance to prove himself and save his girlfriend and her family from bandits, but overall, "Hot Pursuit" becomes a long 92 minutes. It's harmless, but it really could have been considerably better than the final product, especially in regards to the director's script.
The DVD
VIDEO: Paramount presents "Hot Pursuit" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Given that this is a low-budget picture from the late 80's, I really didn't expect anything particularly stunning. What I saw was, surprisingly, a pretty enjoyable presentation, if nothing too remarkable. The picture remained pleasantly crisp and well-defined throughout, with a few moments that seemed slightly on the dark side, but no considerable softness.
Slight grain was present throughout, but remained minor enough to not be very noticable. A few light traces of pixelation and edge enhancement were also seen, but didn't cause much irritation. A stray print flaw or two appeared, but pleasantly, there were no more than a couple of specks. Colors remained rather lifeless throughout the opening quarter, but the rest of the movie became brighter and more vivid once the film reaches the island locations.
SOUND: "Hot Persuit" is presented in a pleasant, but very basic Dolby 2.0 track. The score is incredibly dated at this point, but remains clear and crisp, as does the film's dialogue.
MENUS: Very basic film-themed images serve as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Nothing. Not even a trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Hot Pursuit" might merit a rental from fans of Cusack, but he's done better work in much better films, such as "Grosse Pointe Blank" or "Say Anything". Paramount's DVD is strictly bare-bones, with an enjoyable presentation of the movie, but nothing else for $24.99.
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