Year: 2017
Runtime: 86min
Director: Robert Kirbyson
Starring: John Hennigan, Osric Chau, Spencer Grammer, Richard Tyson, Jonathan Lipnicki, Quintin Jackson, Jane Park Smith.
This is the sort of movie that almost sabotages itself from before the first scene. I mean, the premise is very closely based on a certain reality show of a similar name that wrapped its core series five years before Boone: the Bounty Hunter was released, meaning any residual fans from that series would be pretty minimal. Not great when the modern pop culture zeitgeist changes in less time than it takes to watch a Youtube video. But this is a passion project from wrestler/actor/writer/producer/stunt man John Hennigan (aka John Morrison, aka Johnny Nitro, aka Johnny Mundo, aka Johnny Impact, aka He-Has-More-Nicknames-Than-A-Mobster).
Which, I guess, is strike two against Boone because I bet a good portion of you just went out to Google his name(s). For those of you who did not, congratulations, you might be the intended audience for this film.
Actually, it’s too bad that Boone goes out of its way to repel a potential audience before they give it a chance, because I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. I went in expecting a bland, Z-grade wrestling movie with zero charm and intelligence and found that it was a pretty fun ride with an extra dollop of humor.
The plot is heaped onto us fairly quickly as our merry band of reality show “bounty hunters” start the movie chasing down actor Kevin Sorbo over unpaid parking tickets. Yeah, Kevin Sorbo, the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, a TV show more than twenty years old by the time this movie was made, which I guess is a bad omen for the topical nature of the material on display. But even if it is filled with dated references, bringing up Hercules is interesting because Boone shares a lot in common with that old slice of syndicated television. It’s harmless, goofy fun that does not take itself seriously for a minute.
I mean, c’mon, our heroes are catching Z-list celebrities, it’s totally harmless. What did you expect? Maybe a fight with a brutal drug lord in Mexico while trying to film an outrageous finale for what might be the final season of their TV show? If you read a brief description of the movie’s plot you know that’s exactly what happens.
Boone, in all his infinite wisdom, thinks tracking the son of a murderous drug kingpin to Mexico will make for big TV ratings. And so, joined by his partners, Kat and Denny (played by TV veterans Spencer Grammer and Osric Chau respectively), Boone heads south of the border on what he thinks will be an easy snatch-and-grab.
Obviously nothing goes according to plan and his buddies are arrested while he is chased through the countryside by a pair of twin martial-artists played by actual badasses Lateef Crowder and T.J. Storm.
The movie’s pacing is as rapid-fire as the goofy one-liners dispensed by our star Hennigan, who spouts off random observations with the word ‘Boone’ replacing other verbs as needed. This should be a stupid joke, but the movie sticks to it until it’s almost endearing. In fact, a lot of the dumb bits work because the movie is almost, dare I say it, wholesome.
There is no bitterness or hate in this goofball flick. Just a desire to entertain us with action and comedy, like one of those syndicated TV shows the film alludes to early on. Heck, if you sat me down and told me this was the pilot episode to a late 90s TV show, I’d believe you without hesitation. It just has that feel, even to the extent that the violence is fairly bloodless and mostly just dudes flipping over other dudes and occasionally knocking each other into pieces of furniture.
Heck, our hero even finds time to befriend a Mexican boy who turns out to be a fan of his show. I mean, sure, you know that means the kid is a kidnap victim waiting to happen, but it’s still one of those touches that remind us this is a white-hat/black-hat sort of adventure. The good guys are good and the bad guys, played by Richard Tyson and…wait a minute, let me make sure I’m reading this correctly. Yup, I am. Apparently the scumbag son of the villain is played by none other than former child actor Jonathan Lipnicki. Anyone who watched him in Stuart Little or Jerry Maguire and wondered what he was doing these days, the answer is, uh, this. Doing hard drugs and murdering party girls. Actually, he makes a pretty good spoiled punk in this movie. At least, the bits of it in which he doesn’t spend his screen time locked in an upside-down Porta Potty.
In all honesty, everyone does a good job with their roles. Hennigan is obviously having fun, only showing the cracks in his mask when he has to try and emote with anything other than sardonic wit, and a big tip of the hat goes to Spencer Grammer and Osric Chau. Grammer is, of course, the no-nonsense female lead, but she never devolves into damsel-in-distress or love interest territory and Chau…well doggone it, he’s just so damn charming that he takes what could have been a token nerd character and elevates it into something much more fun. This man deserves better than character actor status.
We also get a couple of fun cameos. Aside from the aforementioned sight of Kevin Sorbo fleeing a parkouring wrestler/bounty hunter, we also get a few quickie shots of Erika Elaniak, Corbin Bernsen, and a small role for both Quintin “Rampage” Jackson and B-movie vet Lorenzo Lamas (see above photo for evidence). It’s a little distracting and doesn’t really add much to the movie, particularly Jackson’s incredibly limited role, which mostly sees him plant his butt in front of a computer for the last ten minutes of the movie to act a personal cheering squad for our hero.
But hey, his limited role has the same arc as everyone else’s in Boone. Nobody learns a darn thing by the end. We have a scene near the final quarter of the film where Boone loses the trust of his friends, gets that nice boy kidnapped, and hits rock bottom as everyone abandons him. Almost sounds like character development, except within three minutes everyone, including a mob of angry townspeople, has changed their mind and loves Boone again.
Fine, it’s a dumb movie. We get that. And sure, the fight scenes (with the notable exception of the scenes with Crowder and Storm who are awesome) tend to be mediocre and poorly staged. But you know what? It’s kind of refreshing to have a cheerful action film that isn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve.
Boone: The Bounty Hunter is smart enough not to overstay its welcome and amusing enough to be worth a viewing if you long for the days of low-rent TV adventure shows.
