Review of The Hunt (2020) by Jordanlayton — 27 Apr 2020

The Hunt is a movie about a group of conservative people abducted by a group of liberal people who intend to hunt them and/or "teach them a lesson." The main character, played by Betty Gelpin, is a seemingly level-headed woman grouped in with the abducted people.

This movie is getting some praise from reviewers for making jokes at the expense of both sides of the political spectrum. It did do that...but the jokes just weren't funny. Lauren and I watched this whole movie with entirely straight faces except for a handful of snorts.

Regardless, comedy is subjective and that's not where my main issue with the film lies. This is a movie virtue signaling through it's characters that it's mocking for virtue signaling. It's akin to satirizing satire. After so many ham-fisted jokes at the expense of both sides, it becomes unclear as to whether the film is criticizing it's cartoonishly politically-charged characters or criticizing those that paint the opposing political side in the same light as these characters are written. I've rewritten that last sentence 4 times in an attempt to illustrate my point. Therein lies my previous main critique of this film. What point it is trying to make is unclear. Now, you might say, "Jordan, it's a comedy, just enjoy the ride and don't think about it so much". And to that I would say: it was just not an enjoyable ride. I didn't find the jokes funny, the version of the action-with-jokes-mixed-in formula this film employs is tired, and the action itself isn't creative or engaging. I can't recommend this ESPECIALLY considering the VOD price they're asking for rental. If you want a good Betty Gilpin performance, watch G.L.O.W. on Netflix.