The Tuxedo

Review by Clint Morris

When Jackie Chan left the films of Hong Kong behind for the glitz, glamour and zest of Hollywood movies - he no doubt expected every movie he did to be a hit.

For the most part he has been lucky - the Rush Hour films and Shanghai Noon earned quite a pretty penny - but it's unavoidable that there's always going to be a miss, among those hits.

For Chan, it's The Tuxedo, something full of glitz and glamour (Jennifer Love Hewitt) but with less zest than a Police Academy sequel.

A cross between The Mask and recent Dana Carvey starrer Master of Disguise, The Tuxedo is B-grade storytelling wrapped in a pretty package.

Ironically, the film wants you to believe Chan's character, Jimmy Tong - an introverted cab driver - is the least likely person you'd see as a superhero. Never in a million years would you see this guy battling the bad guys.

Mistake No.1 - we aren't swallowing that.

Soon working as a limo driver to chauffeur playboy millionaire/super spy Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), Tong's position is bumped up to inciter when Devlin finds himself in a hospital bed as the result of a failed hit attempt. Fortunately for Tong, Devlin's got a magical tuxedo in the cupboard, and whoever puts it on will soon become a kick-ass spy.

Jimmy takes over Devlin's assignment and, with the assistance of a rookie partner (Jennifer Love Hewitt), sets out to find the men responsible for putting his boss in stirrups and intimidating alarm in the city.

To its merit, The Tuxedo is enjoyable enough. Teaming Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt is an interesting idea (thankfully there's no romance between their characters) and, as expected, some of the stunts and action sequences are quite eye popping.

However, what The Tuxedo lacks is a good storyline. Much like the Jim Carrey movie The Mask, it's all bells and whistles and no plot here. On top of that, what's the big deal about a taxi driver turning into Jackie Chan anyway?

While Jackie or Jennifer fans should find enough in the film to wet their appetite, others will be praying the stitching on this Tuxedo comes apart real soon.

2.5 out of 5

The Tuxedo
Australian release: Thursday December 26
Cast: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ritchie Coster, Debi Mazar, Jason Isaacs, Peter Stormare.
Director: Kevin Donovan.
Website: Click here

Brought to you by MovieHole