This comedy film is based on the 1994 book of the same name by Janet Evanovich, which was a best seller in the US. The film was shot in Pennsylvania, USA.

It tells the story of Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl), who accepts a job as a recovery agent and bounty hunter in a bail-bond business, run by her sleazy cousin, Vinnie (Patrick Fischler).  She has no training for the job, has been divorced recently, and is desperate for employment.

She is behind in her rent and her car payments, and she is happy to accept anything that pays quickly. In the meantime, her family keeps the pressures on her to find a good job, settle down, and marry again.

Because the bounty hunting of some people pays particularly well, she takes on the job of pursuing Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), who is a former policeman on the loose, and wanted for the killing of an unarmed man.  Joe has a bounty of $50K hanging on his head. But Joe also happens to be the person who seduced Stephanie back in high school, when she was 17 years of age, and who then dumped her. Stephanie still carries the hurt, and she tries valiantly to bring him in.

An agent, named Ranger (Daniel Sunjata), gives her lessons in bounty hunting, what not to do, and how to fire a gun, and he pairs well with Stephanie. In pursuing Joe Morelli, with the help of Ranger, she comes to the conclusion that the evidence against him doesn’t quite add up, or make sense.

But more importantly for her, is the fact that her old attraction for Joe starts to re-surface, causing major problems. Despite them, however, the film marches predictably to a happy ending.

Evanovich’s book was about crime that had a comic touch. This movie aims for comedy and mystery, and misses out on both. One of the reasons for this is that, despite every effort, Katherine Heigl struggles to make her role very convincing, and the chemistry between her and Jason O’Mara doesn’t make up for what the film fails to deliver in other ways - Peter Sheehan, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.

Starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, Patrick Fischler, Sherrie Shepherd, and Debbie Reynolds. Directed by Julie Anne Robinson. Rated  M (Violence and coarse language). 91 min.

http://www.catholic.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2165:peter-sheehan&catid=114:film-reviews-2011&Itemid=430