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 etractors of Jackie Chan's "The Tuxedo"
invariably points to the use of wireworks as the reason why they don't feel this
is a "real Jackie Chan" movie. This is unfortunate (for them) because,
taken as a stand-alone movie (and really, that's all it is) "The
Tuxedo" is a riotously funny movie that mixes comedy with stunts while at
the same time lampooning every plot of a James Bond movie. As a plus, it also
doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as the other bastard son of James Bond,
"XXX".
Jackie Chan ("Gorgeous")
headlines as Jimmy Tong, a Chinese cabdriver in New York City who, because of
his driving ability, is hired to be the chauffeur for suave superspy Clark
Devlin (Jason Isaacs). After a skateboard bomb (yes, that's right, a skateboard
bomb) blows up their car and puts Devlin in a coma, Jimmy goes after the
guys responsible. Through a series of misunderstandings and mistaken identities
only possible in movies, Jimmy ends up impersonating Devlin as he and newbie
secret agent Del (Jennifer Love Hewitt) infiltrates Evil Business Tycoon Banning
(Ritchie Coster). Their mission is to uncover Banning's secret plot for global
domination and stop him. Or something like that.
Despite the fact that I couldn't understand half of the
things Jackie was saying in the movie (is it me, or is his English getting worst
with each movie??), he still had enough funny one-liners to crack me up.
"The Tuxedo" as a whole cracked me up. This movie is played entirely
for laughs, and nothing proves this more than Banning's idea for global
domination: he plans to dry up the world's drinking water so he can sell his
brand of water exclusively. Yes, that's right. Evil Tycoon Banning sells spring
water for a living!
Also, consider the tuxedo, which is this fancy-schmancy
doohickey that allows its wearer to do incredible things like dance the mambo
(hey, that's incredible to me!) or take on multiple combatants at once. Re: the
tuxedo allows its wearer to do everything James Bond does on a regular basis in
his movies.
The knock on "The Tuxedo" is that Jackie,
(supposedly) for the first time in his illustrious career, has relied on a lot
of wirework for his stunts. Because the tuxedo is superpowered, its wearer can
defy gravity and do things really fast. To make these stunts come alive requires
some outside help, and as such Jackie is often being propelled to and fro by
wires, or replaced by stuntmen. Jackie Chan Purists have cried foul because of
this, although I don't know why, because the extra juice only helps to serve
notice that this movie is a cartoonish comedy and nothing else.
"The Tuxedo" also benefits tremendously from the
appearance of Jennifer Love Hewitt, who in classic Jackie Chan tradition doesn't
actually play the love interest more than she plays the "buddy".
(Jackie Chan, for those who don't know, doesn't believe that his character
should do anything immoral onscreen. Thus, Jackie's characters will never sleep
with anyone he isn't married to, or even kiss them for that matter. It's called
being a role model, look it up.) Hewitt (TV's "Party of Five") is
obviously having a hell of a time here, and it shows. Not only does she look
great in a designer suit, but the young actress is stunning in a blue dress. Oh,
and also in true Jackie Chan tradition, the girl gets to kick some ass, too. You
go girl!
I can safely say that "The Tuxedo" is the first
Jackie Chan movie that's really made me laugh. Even "Gorgeous",
although funny, was not an all-out comedy; there were some serious moments there
that wouldn't fit here. "The Tuxedo" is going for laughs first, and
everything else second. The movie benefits greatly from Chan's rubberface and
Hewitt's glowing presence. (I can safely say that I am now a fan of the
delightful Ms. Hewitt.)
Fans of Jackie should stop criticizing the man for what
he's using now, and focus on what he's giving them in return. No, Jackie may not
be leaping up walls on sheer willpower, but if that's all you cared about in
your Jackie Chan movies, you could go to the zoo and watch monkeys run around
and still get the same level of "entertainment." The point is, don't
think too much about what's wrong (or missing or added), and start thinking
about what's right. And "The Tuxedo" is right in that it's one funny
movie.
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