And it seems Aniston herself is still comfortable playing this genre as she now stars in another rom-com, The Bounty Hunter, alongside Scottish hunk Gerald Butler, who made his mark in Hollywood in 2007 playing Leonidas, the Spartan King, in Zack Snyder’s blockbuster flick 300.

Sitting in the director’s chair this time is Andy Tennant, a Hollywood filmmaker who is well known in the romantic comedy genre through blockbusters such as Will Smith’s Hitch, Reese Witherspoon’s Sweet Home Alabama, Drew Barrymore’s Ever After and Kate Hudson’s Fool’s Gold,.

With those three big names on the cast and credit, Bounty Hunter looks promising, but big names are no guarantee for success.

You don’t have to sit through this film to judge the quality of The Bounty Hunter. The first 10 minutes show it all.

The film starts with an action scene where Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), a troublesome bounty hunter, chases a bail-jumping man through the hustle and bustle of a city crowd.

Milo was a policeman before he got himself booted off the force and decided to be a bounty hunter. He is not doing great in his new job though and spends time sleeping on his bondman’s sofa.

However, he seems to have landed some good luck when he is assigned to find his ex-wife, Nicole Hurley (Aniston), who has skipped bail. Nicole is an attractive reporter for local paper Daily News who has ditched a hearing in order to pursue a murder story.

Milo blames Nicole for ruining his life and he thinks that finding Nicole is his chance for a “revenge”.

While catching his ex is a piece of cake, bringing her to justice is another story. In fact, Milo gets involved in covering the story Nicole is trying to break. They even end up in a tough situation on the street where they have to fight to stay alive, but it’s pretty clear that Milo and Nicole still have strong feelings for each other.

Other roles include Stewart, Nicole’s co-worker at the Daily News, played by Jason Sudeikis from the Saturday Night Live’s fame who has a crush on her.

Senior actress Christine Baranski brings more humor to the film as she plays Nicole’s eccentric mother (Kitty Hurley).

The Bounty Hunter somehow fits the description of action comedy for the inclusion of some action scenes as well and the choice of Butler is indicative of the effort.

The actor is well trained in stunts from action films such as 300, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and F. Gary Gray’s Law Abiding Citizen.  

Even though The Bounty Hunter is not Butler’s first rom-com, he needs more mileage if he wants to impress fans of this genre. He’s been in a lot of different kinds of movies, but his sensibilities for comedy need to be honed.  

Last summer, Butler had a role in another romantic comedy, The Ugly Truth opposite Katherine Heigl and it is obvious that his macho persona was not enough

Finally, regarding the rumors of a romantic relationship between Aniston and Butler, the chemistry between them was flat.

The romance scene, which is supposed to be sweet and touching, feels flat and plain.

Verdict: Light comedy with a touch of action and Butler’s muscles.

(The Bounty Hunter, 110 minutes, Columbia Pictures)

Directed by Andy Tennant  
Produced by Neal H. Moritz  
Written by Sarah Thorp  
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Christine Baranski, Jason Sudeikis

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