Reese Witherspoon has spoken numerous times about how Hollywood has not produced good roles for woman. As a result, she began her own production company and produced "Gone Girl" and "Wild." This year she adds another producing credit with "Hot Pursuit," a movie that seems to go against Witherspoon's mission. While it is a female buddy comedy that seems to subvert the genre conventions, "Hot Pursuit" is the epitome of how Hollywood views women -- as sexual objects for men's pleasure.

The film, also starring Sofia Vergara and directed by Anne Fletcher, tells the story of an uptight and by-the-book cop who tries to protect the outgoing widow of a drug boss as they race through Texas pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen.

"Hot Pursuit" begins with a montage of Officer Cooper (Witherspoon) growing up in a police car with her father. When we finally see her all grown up she is an uptight woman chasing off a date. She then gets her mission and from there the plot takes off with silly jokes.

The plot makes out Cooper as a completely dumb character with no sense of reality. She does not know certain phrases used in the real world and she seems out of touch in reality. For a person who uses date sites, this seems completely false and out of the reality of this film. But even though Cooper is so out of touch with reality and completely asexual, the film finds a way to put her in a dress and have a man stare at her.

When the Cooper and Daniella Riva (Vergara) commandeer a car from a farm, a convict, Randy (Robert Kazinsky) appears and falls for Cooper. He comments on a smile on her face and she eventually finds a way to make out with him. Cooper who seems unfeminine at the beginning and against Riva's attire, changes her opinions by the end.

With Riva, the film has an easier time sexualizing her character. Since she is the wife of a drug lord, the writers of this film decide to put her in outfits that are all about showing her curves and showing her legs. Never is this character seen in a regular every day outfit. Instead, the production team decides to show her in heels running around. Even in the final duel with another drug lord, Riva is dressed in a black dress, and the close-ups make sure to emphasize her breasts.

The movie reminds the viewer that this was made to please men in the most explicit ways especially during a lesbian make-out scene. Not only does Fletcher decide to shoot in slow motion but she continuously cuts to a man looking at them and getting aroused; the sequence concludes with a gunshot. During a climatic chasing scene Cooper and Riva twist and turn in the most sexual positions trying to make audiences laugh. However, once again men and even older gentlemen stare as these two women move around. It is sad to see a female director get in on the act of propagating the male gaze in such an explicit manner.

The plot of the movie is yet another ridiculous endeavor with no real themes and showing stereotypes. Vergara is Colombian, so she may get away with poking jokes at the Colombian drug cartel. But once again it shows that Hollywood has no other way of depicting Latinos.

The fact that the writers chose to have her character speak in Spanglish is yet another misconception Hollywood continues to misunderstand. In the final duel between Cortez, the drug lord and Riva, the dialogue flips from Spanish to English. It is as if the writers and director had no confidence in audiences reading subtitles. With so much cultural diversity and the world being smaller due to globalization, this is something that remains frustrating. As a matter of fact it takes you out of the picture.

What works in this film is Witherspoon, who remains a gem and brings back her comic timing, which made her famous, from "Legally Blonde." However, this performance doesn't touch the surface of those past successes. Meanwhile, Vergara brings back the loud Colombian stereotypes one has come to expect. It works and it is comic. However, it is far from revelatory. The two showcase some chemistry and that makes the experience watchable. It even makes one forget about the problems this film has. However, when all is said and done, everything is so banal and all the faults start to come out.

All in all audiences will get chances to laugh in this poorly conceived effort. However, it is a movie that is a step back in Hollywood. This is the type of movie actresses should be repulsed in and should skew away from if they want the system to ever change

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