Halfway through The Pickup, you start to wonder when the fun kicks in. The film is an action comedy. A genre that best exemplifies the term 'popcorn entertainment', which engages the audience with humour. However, instead of comedy, The Pickup peppers the story with an ample amount of cliches. The film starts with a scene between Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson, two well-known comedians. Unfortunately, even their experience with the genre feels useless once you realise that they are working against stale writing.

Director: Tim Story

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, Eva Longoria

Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson are both from the school of Saturday Night Live, the popular sketch comedy show. However, that seems to be the only common factor between the two actors. There is a jarring tonal shift when the scene switches between the characters played by Murphy and Davidson. Murphy’s character boxes him into a stoic demeanour. This choice makes sure that the veteran actor's comedic talents remain unexplored in a film that already has a scarcity of laughs. Meanwhile, Davidson continues to bring sketch comedy sensibilities to a film that does not support that brand of humour. Davidson’s character Travis, is initially labelled as a bumbling idiot; the type of person who is typically unpredictable. But this unpredictability only serves the plot, and not the humour. With even the lead characters written poorly, there is not much hope for the rest of the film.

The Pickup doubles down on its reliance on cliches in how it handles its women characters. Keke Palmer’s Zoe evolves from being the antagonist to an anti-hero. But the character’s woes do not stop there. Zoe’s motive for planning a heist is an emotional one, which is never addressed again, because it isn’t convenient for the plot. Zoe's romance with Travis feels forced. Writing for Eva Longoria’s character also falls down a hole of cliches. She plays the dutiful wife. Sorry, dutiful “Latina” wife of Eddie Murphy’s Russell. The film never fails to reinforce the fact that she is a Latina, which doesn't seem to serve any purpose to the story or her character arc. Representing an ethnic group’s stereotypes is fine as long as it is done in a respectful manner, where we are not laughing at a character because of said stereotypes. The Pickup sadly fails in this regard.

The Pickup feels like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, with different pieces from different puzzles mashed together to make some sense. The film makes you nostalgic for early 2010 comedies, which could have been amplified with better writing. You try to ignore the obvious cliches, hoping you will be entertained. But the sad realisation that the cliches might be the only good thing about the film quickly sets in.