Jennifer Aniston may be worth less than 2 bottles of Heineken in the famed beer ad, but as Nicole Hurley, she’s hotly pursued and not for her looks, by both a bounty hunter Milo Boyd, and someone trying to murder her.

What’s in it for Boyd (played by Gerard Butler) is $5,000 reward money for recapturing her for jumping bail, which she did to chase a lead on a news story. Besides, when you consider the bonus of getting to clap handcuffs on your ex-wife, the payback is, in MasterCard terms, priceless.

To add another twist, the scriptwriters even made the hunter also the hunted, as Boyd must shake off 2 goons hot on his trail for $11,000 in gambling debt.

So you’ve got 2 good looking leads, as well as some thrills and twists to make it stand out from the garden-variety romantic comedies. Do we smell a box-office hit from director Andy Tennant, who gave us other romcoms like Ever After and Hitch? Sadly, no.

The role of a tough reporter may sound like the platform for Aniston to expand her abilities and be taken seriously. However, you’re just reminded again of her famous Rachel Green from F.R.I.E.N.D.S in this film because Hurley is just Rachel with a different name and more street smarts. Aniston does admittedly look good for her 41 years of age, but eye candy certainly can come loads cheaper than Ms Aniston.

Butler’s character isn’t groundbreaking either. Milo Boyd is practically the reincarnation of Mike Chadway from The Ugly Truth. While the former cop may less crass and more obvious about his vulnerability, Boyd is still the same character: arrogant, easy to dislike and full of vices underneath. And there aren’t enough shirtless scenes, or ingeniously sweet stunts a la PS I Love You, to make up for that. This is a pity because Butler has brought us awe-inspiring and classy roles, think 300 and Phantom Of The Opera, so you can blame this modern-day disaster on the shortcomings of this particular role or script.

The one highlight in the movie comes in the form of actor-comedian Jason Sudeikis, who plays Stewart, a fellow reporter who is slightly delusional about the relationship between him and Nicole. Stewart gets kidnapped by the guys going after Milo due to an unfortunate mistake and, while you feel bad for laughing when he is tortured, you chortle anyway. His co-stars are probably less amused by the fact that his acting is superior to theirs.

Perhaps it’s especially unfortunate for The Bounty Hunter that it opens not long after Date Night. That comedy showed that with sparkling writing and talented comic actors, you can actually blend action with laughs and create a thoroughly enjoyable movie.

Title: The Bounty Hunter
Opens: Apr 22
Duration: 107 mins
Language: English
Rating: ✮✮☆☆☆
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Andy Tennant
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Jason Sudeikis