New York City cab driver Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) is hired as a chauffeur for a mysterious man named Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs). When Devlin is hospitalized, Tong unwillingly takes over Devlin's role as a spy for the U.S. government -- with the aid of Devlin's computerized tuxedo, which gives its wearer supernatural powers -- and finds himself paired with a sexy but inexperienced consort (Jennifer Love Hewitt).
This official description of The Tuxedo is fairly accurate. It doesn’t mention the action scenes that Jackie Chan is known for because they don’t feature a staring role in this adolescent movie targeted at the under twelve audience. Their lies the conundrum, because this film also carries a rating of PG-13 so many kids who wouldn’t find the sophomoric storyline or flat performances of Chan and Hewitt, won’t be allowed to watch the movie because of a few sexual references. On the other hand, those sexual references are the only reason for Jennifer Love Hewitt even to be in the film. Her attempts at comedy are strained at best.
If you are a fan of Jackie Chan movies, pass this one by. It lacks any of the trademark originality of his regular body of work. This is one more Americanized movie without any of the saving graces of his other American films. However, this movie isn’t all bad. It isn’t a horrible movie. It just isn’t anything special. It isn’t what we’ve come to expect from Jackie Chan. A silly, more comedy than action movie with another gimmick to give us an excuse to watch Chan do his one-man Three Stooges routine. The Tuxedo is a rainy Saturday afternoon movie good for a casual viewing.
