sandwichjohnfilms

The raunch of CHiPs makes it a great comedic ride down the California highway. Review by Matt Cummings As a young teen, I spent more than enough time in front of the television, absorbed in now-forgettable series like CHiPs . But there are elements of this campy comedy/drama that still resonate: the excellent motorcycle sequences, those awesome Harley Davidsons, the groovy Big Band music from Season 1. Its revival in theaters this week reflects little of the series' original DNA, but it still works as a hilarious raunchy re-imagining and perhaps a blueprint for a potential franchise. As the FBI pursues corruption within the California Highway Patrol, it assigns one of its agents (Michael Pena) to go undercover as Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello, who secretly harbors sexual desires for any woman in yoga pants, masturbating three times or more before lunch. He's teamed up with the oldest recruit in the CHP, the former motorcycle stunt rider Jon Baker (Dax Shepard

The female roadtrip comedy Hot Pursuit is a shoddy, hot mess. Review by Matt Cummings In Director Anne Fletcher's Hot Pursuit , the uptight Texas cop Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) tries to protect the wife of a Mexican drug lord (Sofia Vergara) after her to-be-snitch-husband buys it in a shootout. Cooper is by-the-book, instantly clashing with Daniella Riva's wall-to-wall shoe fetish and ignorance of the dangers she's under. Cooper brings along her own baggage as well, suffering from an embarrassing incident that's left her desk-ridden. Before Cooper and Riva can arrive in Dallas, they must go on the roadtrip from hell, dodging dirty cops, senior citizens, and a fierce drug lord who Riva blames for the death of her husband. From the moment Fletcher's film begins, we know exactly where this low-brow comedy will go. There's a transvestite in the back of a cop car, to a supposedly funny tasing of a college student that sets him on fire, each of which