Not Your Typical Black Tie Event
September 27, 2002
Discovering that the life of a secret agent isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, cabbie turned chauffeur Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) is in for a big surprise in DreamWork’s comedy/action movie “The Tuxedo,” directed by Kevin Donovan, opening today.
Introduced as an unlucky-in-love N.Y. cabbie, Tong’s madman personality and wild driving skills interest CSA (the film’s version of the CIA) agent Steena (Debi Mazar) to offer him a driving position for a millionaire secret agent Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs).
After days on the job, Devlin informs Tong that he is to request temporary leave due to his injuries from an explosive accident while on duty.
In Devlin’s absence, Tong, intrigued by the secret agent’s special prized tuxedo, decides to try it on and is shocked to experience its hidden supernatural powers.
Transformed into a secret agent himself, Tong is paired up with an attractive yet naive rookie partner, Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt).
Tong, forced to keep his true identity concealed from Blaine, must investigate a terrorist plan to contaminate the planet’s drinking water, led by the evil Diedrich Banning, (Ritchie Coster), whose only concern is to expand his bottled water business.
With the tuxedo, Tong is equipped with unimaginable abilities such as to fly through air, run faster than a speeding car, and to execute fast-paced karate moves.
Similar to other Chan films, “The Tuxedo” is a mixture of humor and the trademark action filled scenes. While the plot seems to be unrealistic since the CSA is unaware of Tong’s sudden involvement in the case throughout the movie, its comical perspective makes up for it.
And it’s Hewitt’s bombshell character that presents the audience with eye candy in a film that would be otherwise strictly action based.
“The Tuxedo” introduces an ordinary character occupied by his own life’s demands until he is literally sucked into an adventure caused by an inanimate object. “The Tuxedo” accomplishes its goal of putting the spotlight on a funny and witty wannabe secret agent.
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