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A divorced couple scheme to recover the retirement money that was stolen from them.
Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan. In “The Love Punch”, he plays Richard while Emma Thompson plays Kate, his ex-wife. With only a week left to retirement, Richard arrives at work one morning only to find his entire office standing outside the building. Apparently, the company was bought out by a bloodthirsty French businessman who cares nothing about workers and their families and is all about money and himself. They are informed that the pension fund they had all invested in is now worthless and Richard vows to everyone that he will find out what’s going on and sort everything out. He talks to his ex-wife Kate and informs her of what happened. Because she used to work with him at the company, her pension is affected too so they contact their hacker son who is able to tell them where the Frenchman is and in no time, they are both on their way to Paris.
Once there, they realize that in order to pull off their madcap caper, which involves them kidnapping and then imitating two Texas couples in order to gain admission to said Frenchman’s wedding where he will bestow upon his wife, a rare and treasured diamond necklace, which they plan on stealing, they call on their best friends and married neighbors Jerry (Timothy Spall) and Sophie (Tuppence Middleton) who are only more than willing to participate. It’s quite evident, from the very beginning, that while Richard and Kate are indeed divorced, Richard still has feelings for her and it shows in everything he does, especially when he finds out about the hostile takeover of his company and she is the first and only person he goes to for guidance and support.
The movie works only because of the film’s two leads, Mr. Brosnan and Ms. Thompson. They have indisputable chemistry and granted, that is important for any movie to succeed but the story here is so far-fetched and unbelievable that in the hands of less capable actors, it surely would have failed. Timothy Spall and Tuppence Middleton are delightful as Richard and Kate’s neighbors who are game for whatever happens and when all four are together onscreen, we get some absolutely priceless moments, including a quintessential slow-motion shot usually reserved for Michael Bay movies of Jerry and Sophie as they make their way out of the airport. Mr. Brosnan has no problem poking fun at his previous iteration of James Bond by letting Ms. Thompson take the reigns during a subdued car chase. “The Love Punch” is light and breezy and while it won’t win any awards, it will bring a smile to your face.
In stores August 19
