Every year, it seems a writer or actor has a dichotomy where one of their movies is the best while the other is the worst. And then there’s the double whammy where an actor or writer has two of the worst movies of their career released in the same year. Eva Longoria has the distinction of the double whammy in 2025.
But even more fascinating for the actress is that she has appeared in two of the worst movies of the year that not only were released within a week of each other but were released on Amazon Prime. Thankfully, The Pickup dropped with more fanfare than the atrociously terrible The War of the Worlds, but to quote a good line from Waiting…”That’s like being the smartest person with Down’s Syndrome.”
Eddie Murphy has made some awful movies. But he also has 10 children, so sometimes a family man has to do what a family man has to do. It’s a noble thing when a parent has to take an extra job or something they’re not trained in as long as it puts food on the table. Yet, I doubt Murphy has to worry about paying the bills and some of his kids are grown. But remember when Murphy was making good movies while Bill Cosby was making awful movies? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Also, Murphy is one of those actors that has achieved the status of a forever celebrity. At 64, Murphy is still a commanding figure of both movies and comedies in general. He’s an icon. No one can deny Murphy saved Saturday Night Live from being canceled in the early 1980s. And despite what Spike Lee thinks, he did help a lot of black celebrities out in the 1980s.
The Pickup is one of those movies that could’ve been a great action comedy, except there’s no much comedy and the action is few and far between. Even at 94 minutes with credits, it feels very long especially when there’s no chemistry between any of the actors. Murphy plays Russell Pierce, a veteran armed security guard, who is partnered with the obnoxious Travis Stolly (Pete Davidson) as they are scheduled to traveling through rural areas of southern New Jersey.
The movie was filmed in Georgia for which once the pine trees of the state is a good double for the Pine Barrens of the state. A cell phone video I saw online has a woman from my neck of the woods in northwestern Georgia excited because she can see Rome, Ga. in the background. But I’m sure it was a second unit crew who drove through the town filming exteriors that were projected on a screen as Davidson and Murphy sat in the truck in a studio.
As a matter of fact, most of the action scenes lack much excitement to overcompensate for Davidson’s atrocious performance. Travis is in deep trouble for pulling a gun on Zoe (Keke Palmer), who he mistakes for robbing a bank at the beginning. But she doesn’t call police because she needs him. Mind you no one else in the bank decides to notify authorities nor Travis’ supervisor, Clark (Andrew “Dice” Clay) until the following Monday. I mean, hey, it’s a Friday.
So, Travis spends the whole weekend with Zoe telling her everything about his job including their routes. Zoe needs the armored car to pull off a ludicrous, yet still uninteresting heist, at a casino in Atlantic City. She wants to change the RFID number on the truck so the casino people will recognize it when it scans. Of course, all this is contingent on if the armored car makes it to the casino before the other one.
Of course, this is a foolish plot that didn’t have anyone questioning it. Georgia residents might laugh at seeing some of their small towns with a matte drawing of the Atlantic City skyline. But this is another problem with movies that have been filmed in Georgia. Filmmakers are only doing the bare minimum to get their tax credits.
In 2010, Atlanta was a ghost town in The Walking Dead following a zombie apocalypse. Now, it’s just a few lackluster action scenes in whatever small town they can get permits in so they don’t have to hire extra cast and crew. Part of the route Russell and Travis go one are out in the middle of nowhere where there’s no good cellular or radio reception. Yeah, like an armored car company wouldn’t run that risk.
But it’s another boring car chase scene on a rural Georgia highway that thinks it’s trying to recapture the essence of Smokey and the Bandit. Even mediocre car chase scenes filmed elsewhere add in other vehicles and more risks. If you’re going to film car chase scenes in BFE Georgia with only three vehicles, you better film it in a way that it’s thrilling and can make up for the dull scenes.
Longoria plays Russell’s wife, Natalie, who comes off as a Latino soap opera stereotype. And worse, the script gives Zoe some justification for wanting to rip off a casino. But it doesn’t matter. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 