![]() ![]() “I loved that it was an original story and an action film with a woman as the lead character, the significance of which I do not take lightly,” Jennifer said in provided comments. As the film’s official synopsis says, “She spends years in hiding honing mind, body, and spirit to become an unstoppable force, eluding the underworld, the LAPD, and the FBI, as she systematically delivers her own personal brand of justice.” Sort of sounds like Bruce Willis’ Death Wish, but, you know, with hair. well, you can kind of figure out the rest. ![]() Recovering, and dealing with the horror of what’s happened, she attempts to help authorities catch the murderers, but the system lets her down. The other 101 are the problem.In Peppermint, Jennifer plays Riley North, whose husband and daughter are murdered by a drug cartel, with Riley herself barely clinging to life. For a second, you're like, Huh? Then Riley adds, "Just kidding, don't squeal." Mid-rampage, a blood-soaked Riley surprises her old pal Peg with a visit, ties her to a chair and mumbles, "I'm going to burn your house down now with you in it." Peg wets herself. Peppermint has exactly one choice moment. A cretinous, racist, nastily violent slog is what it is. I kept waiting for one of the "You go girl" tweets shown on local TV to close with a TimesUp hashtag.Īs a director, Morel is not burdened with a reputation for style or artistic ambition. Peppermint is set in an alternate universe where vigilante moms are embraced as feminist heroes on social media. You know the drill: Riley breaks into the local AK-47s "R" Us and embarks on a one-woman murder spree, gunning down heavily tattooed henchmen, blowing up corrupt judges and becoming an overnight sensation on Twitter. The audience also knows this because, when she confronts Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), the following exchange takes place: When the corpses of the three bangers are found hanging upside down from a Ferris wheel, the LAPD realizes Riley's back in town and out for justice. That's apparently how long it takes to Bruce Wayne it around the world honing your body into a lethal weapon. After a corrupt judge releases the three suspects Riley has ID'd, she vanishes for five years. You can probably guess what happens for the next hour-plus, too. Instead, she and her doting dad are machine-gunned to death in slow motion by heavily tattooed henchmen of the Garcia gang after buying an ice cream cone. Wouldn't it have been great if the tot turned to the camera and said with a smile, "Spoiler alert!"īut no. "Because you can't go around punching people in the face," her mother replies. "Why didn't you punch her in the face?" the child inquires. In an early scene, she and her young daughter are hassled outside a mall by a pushy scout leader named Peg who tells them they're not good enough to join. ![]() Garner is saddled with the half-baked role of suburban mom Riley North. He might as well have scissored the screenplays for Death Wish, Taken and Sicario and then taped them back together at random. John ( London Has Fallen - 25 percent!), the story is a steady drip of derivative plotting, dim-witted dialogue and blatant xenophobia. What's wrong is virtually everything else about the film. What's wrong with pulling a switcheroo? Giving a female performer the chance to play a parent who's been wronged by a gang and gets even using a very particular set of skills? The answer, naturally, is not a thing. You might think: Pierre Morel - that's the guy who did Taken. It takes a movie as staggeringly stupid and repellent as Peppermint. Not every Hollywood production has what it takes to parlay a big-name director, big stars and a healthy budget into a 13 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's right, the race for Worst Picture of the Year looks like a lock. Unfortunately for the actress, it's Razzie Awards buzz. I'm talking about the buzz for Jennifer Garner's latest. Can you feel it? It's spreading like wildfire. ![]()
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