It doesn't really matter that the script for this lively action-comedy is paper thin: teaming up Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn on-screen is a stroke of genius. These two comic actresses have impeccable timing, and throw everything into this madcap jungle adventure. Yes, the dialogue could have been a lot sharper, the story more coherent and the themes more resonant. But as a guilty pleasure, it's a lot of fun.
It opens as Emily (Schumer) decides to continue with her plans to take a luxury holiday in Ecuador, even though she's just split from her boyfriend (Randall Park). Although taking her mother Linda (Hawn) wasn't her first choice. As they settle in at the beach resort, they meet Ruth (Wanda Sykes) and her ex-military friend Barb (Joan Cusack), who warn them about gangs of drug dealers who kidnap tourists. Sure enough, Emily and Linda are grabbed by Colombian criminal Morgado (Oscar Jaenada) and taken to the Amazon, where they escape and go on the run with the help of a rugged but pompous explorer (Christopher Meloni). Meanwhile back in America, Emily's oddball brother (Ike Barinholtz) is pestering a government official (Bashir Salahuddin) to find his missing mother and sister.
Instead of working out a clever story or writing something witty, the filmmakers rely instead on the skills of Schumer and Hawn. This leaves the movie feeling like a series of random set-pieces in which the actresses improvise a lot of goofiness, which is shaped into something vaguely sensible in the edit. The overall narrative is flimsy at best, but there are hilarious moments scattered through every scene, and Schumer and Hawn thankfully underplay most of it.
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