Desperados

An almost prototypically lazy modern comedy, Desperados follows Nasim Pedrad’s Wesley as she sends off a nasty email after her new boyfriend (Robbie Amell’s Jared) essentially ghosts her – with complications ensuing after Wesley learns that Jared was involved in an accident that left him unable to get in touch. The bulk of the narrative subsequently details Wesley’s ongoing efforts at deleting said email from Jared’s devices before he can see it, with this plan forcing Wesley, along with her two reluctant friends (Anna Camp’s Brooke and Sarah Burns’ Kaylie), to head to Mexico (where Jared is recovering). It’s a reasonable premise that is, by and large, employed to wholly underwhelming effect by director LP, as the filmmaker, working from Ellen Rapoport’s script, delivers a sluggish and mostly laugh-free endeavor that contains very little in the way of forward momentum or compelling set-pieces. The less-than-engrossing atmosphere is compounded by Pedrad’s ineffectual (and somewhat grating) turn as the unapologetically obnoxious central character, and it goes without saying, certainly, that one’s ongoing efforts at working up any interest in or sympathy for Wesley’s exploits tend to fall hopelessly flat. (It’s clear, too, that the overlong running time, which paves the way for certain subplots that could and should have been jettisoned, only perpetuates the lackluster vibe.) By the time the prolonged and needlessly melodramatic third act rolls around, Desperados has undoubtedly cemented its place as low-rent, Happy Madisonesque production that boasts few attributes designed to wholeheartedly (or partially) justify its existence.

*1/2 out of ****