Director: Andy Tennant

Writer: Sarah Thorp (Screenplay)

Starring: Gerald Butler, Jennifer Aniston, Gio Perez, Joel Marsh Garland, Jason Kolotouros, Matt Malloy, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Rose

Plot: A bounty hunter learns that his next target is his ex-wife, a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure.

Tagline – It’s a Job. It Isn’t Personal. Well, Maybe a Little 

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Rom Com 101

Story: The Bounty Hunter starts when bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Butler) is in need of money gets given a chance for a new bounty, his ex-wife reporter Nicole (Aniston) who has skipped bail for an assault charge.

Once Milo catches up with Nicole, he goes through the difficult task of getting her across country, while her creepy work colleague Stewart (Sudeikis) tracks them and the story Nicole is investigating has people trying to clean it up before it gets released.

Thoughts on The Bounty Hunter

Characters – Milo Boyd is an alcoholic bounty hunter and former cop that gets his latest assignment, his ex-wife, his gambling and drinking problems cause problems along the way as the relationship between the two only takes them off guard. Nicole is a reporter that is looking into a suicide that doesn’t add up, she has gotten herself in trouble over an assault charge and by not attending court a bounty is placed on her head, she is determined to uncover the truth in her story even with her ex-husband tracking her down to put her back in jail. Stewart is co-worker that believes he is in a relationship with Nicole sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. The rest of the characters are the people involved in the case.

Performances – Gerald Butler and Jennifer Aniston were two of the biggest rom com stars at the time of release, they are both good through the film without doing anything great. The supporting cast add the laughs where needed without any of the character being too quirky for the film.

Story – The story follows an ex-married couple who are thrown together as the husband must bring in the wife who skipped bail to investigate a story for her paper. We get the typical bickering between the couple which gets laughs when needed, we have a side story about what is being investigated which could have been give a lot more spotlight than it gets. We also deal with people trying to track down both of the couple for other reasons and by the end it all ties together to be watchable for the audience. It would be fair to say we have one too many side stories going on and the bickering gets old quickly showing us why they should never be a couple in the first place. we also miss out of learning more about what drove Milo to bounty hunting over his police job which he is clearly very good at.

Action/Comedy/Romance – The action is a mix of chases and accidental gun fights which is fine we don’t need the action to be too intense in this film. the comedy comes from the romance side of the story which shows us just how difficult the couple can be at times.

Settings – The film takes place in different American cities, none of them do feel that iconic with most just becoming generic city number one then two etc.

Scene of the Movie – Strip club.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many side stories going on.

Final Thoughts – This is a watchable rom com, it does the basics well uses the star power well and will entertain without being the best of the year.

Overall: Simple and enjoyable.

Rating

Interview with Sergio Di Zio

We were lucky enough to be able to talk to one of the stars of Root of the Problem, Sergio Di Zio. I want to send out a personal thank you for giving us the time to discuss the upcoming movie.

Without further ado, here is the interview

Hello Sergio, thank you for taking the time to answer a couple of questions about your new movie Root of the Problem.

Q1. What drew you to the project Root of the Problem?

A1. It was a story that reminded me of the family films I liked when I was a kid when my entire family would sit in the den on Sunday nights around the big 1980s TV. I loved that feeling of the whole family enjoying something together. So for me, this was a chance to offer a kind of tribute to that time.

Q2. Paul shows a selfish side to having infinite money source, if you could have one item of luxury from a money tree, what would you pick?

A2. I’m feeling pretty grateful right now with what I’ve got but I could use a new laptop.

Q3. Being involved in Hollywood for a couple of decades now, do you get to feel like a mentor, when you are working with younger actors like Leslie Benn or Ty Loupelle?

A3. I think I was a bit protective of them when we’d chat between setups. It’s so great to get the opportunity to do what you love if you love being an actor. But it’s important to remember that it’s show “business” so I’d encourage them to keep grounded so it stays fun and not put much import on the celebrity side of it. I found all that celebrity stuff rarely feels any good it just looks good on tv or on your phone.

Q4. Who inspired you to become an actor?

A4. I loved movies when I was a kid so there were so many. Christopher Reeve’s Superman, and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Al Pacino was a big deal for me.

Q5. I see that you starred in ‘The Lookout’, one of my personal favourite films, how did you find that experience?

A5. The Lookout was one of my favourite experiences. It was our director Scott Frank’s script and his first feature and it turned out really special, I thought. Our lead Joseph Gordon Levitt was such a generous actor. He was so present when the camera wasn’t on him for his scene partner (me) and that was a big lesson for me at the time, for an actor to be that there for the actors he’s working with. It was very gracious and ultimately very smart. He taught me how that’s part of the job in film and I try to never forget it.

Q6. You have had the chance to work with some of the big names in Hollywood, is there anyone you would either like to work with again, or have a chance to work with?

A6. A beauty of this job is how many blind dates you get as an actor. And when it’s someone I admire I try to put that away and show up just prepared to work which is like having a really great date. The experience often lives up to the hope when you focus on the work. 

Q7. Is there a movie you always recommend to people, that not many people have heard of?

A7. I’ve been thinking a lot about Dead Poet’s Society lately. It was a really right movie at the right time movie for me and Robin Williams was just wonderful in that. Very inspiring, both the acting and his character. I used to have a poster of it framed in my childhood bedroom. It’s still there.

Q8. Do you have any projects you would like to say a few words about in the pipeline?

A8. I’ll be appearing in a new series for Netflix called Grand Army. It takes place in a high school and it’s much more mature subject matter but there are some really salient and timely messages in it about about some of the difficulties high schoolers go through growing up right now (and that was pre-pandemic, right now.) 

And once we can all start working again we’ll have to see what comes up. Staying positive is what I’m focusing on these days, probably like just about everybody else.

If you would like to see more of Sergio Di Zio work, check out there IMDB.

I would like to thank Sergio Di Zio one more time for giving us the time to talk about Root of the Problem. Read the review here.