The Pickup, directed by Tim Story and streaming on Amazon Prime, is a buddy comedy-heist film buoyed by the chemistry between Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. Davidson plays Travis, a hapless armored truck guard, while Murphy’s Russ is his reluctant partner on a high-risk route
A still from The Pickup
Film: The Pickup
Cast: Keke Palmer, Pete Davidson, Jef Holbrook, Eddie Murphy, Eva Longoria, Andrew Dice Clay, Jack Kesy, Ismael Cruz Cordova
Director: Tim Story
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 94 min
Tim Story’s Amazon Prime fare, ‘The Pickup’ is not a smooth ride but it is entertaining mainly because the fresh new buddy combo of Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson manage to generate enough chemistry and laughs.
At the start of the movie, Travis (Pete Davidson), the dopey armor truck guard who panics under pressure, pulls a gun on a customer at a bank, thinking the woman is trying to rob him. But Zoe (Keke Palmer), just wants to give him her number.
Russ (Eddie Murphy) who finds himself paired up for a work shift with Travis, is reluctant and annoyed at first but finally gives in under pressure. It’s his anniversary, and he just wants to finish in time so he can meet his wife (Eva Longoria) for dinner.
So off they go on a particularly tricky route that their bad-tempered manager (Andrew Dice Clay) has deemed they take. Soon enough the truck is surrounded by a team of armed robbers who give the truck drivers a choice: relinquish the goods and live, or try to be heroes and die?
The chief antagonist Zoe’s motivation for pulling off the heist, when revealed, is a surprise of sorts. Zoe’s plan is pretty convoluted and sounds implausible. But the manner in which it is staged, while driving through long stretches of the New Jersey highway, is quite interesting. The buddy comedy antics are basically low stakes humor though.
The script by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider goes a little wayward in its efforts to score laughs. So just when things begin to go tense in a do or die chase, Davidson makes some silly quip while taking his eyes off the wheel. You know from that swerve itself that the director is more interested in scoring laughs than making this a heist thriller. Murphy, Davidson, Palmer and Longoria do well to stay with the shape of things.
Uncharacteristically, Murphy is the one who plays a stolid, exasperated straight man to Davidson’s live-wire act. The wisecracks are not exactly funny but Davidson manages to throw in some energy into being a lout. Both Pete Davidson and Eddie Murphy strike enough sparks off each other to make the motor-mouth frisky bonhomie smile worthy at the very least. Palmer and Longoria hold their own as well. It’s the foursome's roguish chemistry that helps us buy into their increasingly ridiculous situation.
Director Tim Story keeps the pace zippy. The formulaic nature of the script doesn’t allow for mindful entertainment, though. The dialog is spirited and there are enough twists in the narrative to make it just about watchable.
The stars do their job but the narrative fails to rise up to the occasion. Despite the energy the actors display, The Pickup loses steam steadily. Tim Story manages to stage some explosive fight sequences and his sense of drama is equally good. Christopher Lennertz background score supports the cause appropriately. However, The Pickup is not exactly a smooth-sailing heist comedy thriller. It gets clunky, side swipes and jolts before it can steady itself for a mildly satisfying conclusion.
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