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Hey
All, we are most fortunate to have as a new contributor,
Patrick J. White,
author of the brilliant book,
THE COMPLETE MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE DOSSIER and martial arts
aficionado on board to give us his thoughts on Jackie Chan’s latest US
offering. Enjoy!
 Love makes people do strange things. Take Jackie Chan; after two failed
attempts to crack the American market, he succeeded in 1998 with the US
release of his Hong Kong film RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, quickly followed by
two of his finest, OPERATION CONDOR and SUPERCOP. The popularity of US
vehicles RUSH HOUR and SHANGHAI NOON ultimately made Chan a household
name in America. Unfortunately, three consecutive flops, THE TUXEDO, THE
MEDALLION, and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS not only shut down the
possibility of further US releases of Chan's great Chinese films, but
also stunted (no pun intended) his American career and oft-spoken
dream to star in a blockbuster American film with a powerhouse director
(one recalls Chan's talk of making THE TUXEDO "for Spielberg" -- a
Dreamworks film, but hardly the same as working for Spielberg). By
the time of RUSH HOUR 3, the ever-diplomatic star was making no secret
of his disappointment in the quality of his American work, and mentioned
more than once that he would continue to focus on making films his way
back in Hong Kong.
Yet, like a
spurned lover who just can't believe that the object of his affections
doesn't return his great passion, Jackie shows up on our doorstep every
now and then. His latest American film, THE SPY NEXT DOOR, looks like a
response to the success of the 2005 Vin Diesel vehicle, THE PACIFIER, a
project which Chan rejected (most recently recycled by Disney as The
Rock's THE GAME PLAN). As a result, the film is not so much a
Jackie Chan film as a film that happens to star Jackie Chan. Lionsgate
is selling the film, accurately, as a "family action comedy," and as
such could have headlined anyone from Bruce Willis to Adam Sandler. The
attempts to exploit the unique talents of its star are mixed.
The film begins
with a montage of Chan action clips from OPERATION CONDOR, THE TUXEDO
and the first two RUSH HOURs, loudly accompanied by the old Johnny
Rivers hit "Secret Agent Man," an effective way of introducing our
iconic hero. The story concerns Bob Ho {Chan in Nutty Professor-
like eyeglasses}, a pen importer whose romance with next-door
ladyfriend Gillian {Amber Valletta} has stalled thanks to her
three children, who simply can't stomach this non-entity, who, of
course, is actually a Chinese Intelligence officer on loan to the CIA
and in pursuit of a Russian terrorist and his gang. When Gillian must
suddenly leave town, Bob volunteers to babysit the kids while still
trying to catch the Russians, who have developed an oil-destroying
formula that would change the world's balance of power. What unfolds
are the usual formulaic comedic situations in which superspy Chan must
deal with cooking breakfast for three antagonistic kids, mall shopping
and school bullies. There are some fun scenes where Bob uses his spy
techware to monitor the kids, and a cute climax in which the kids, Mom
and Bob use spy gadgets and kitchenware to stop the attacking Russians,
but by and large there are few surprises.
Director Brian
Levant {SNOW DOGS, THE FLINTSTONES} has trouble maintaining a
consistent tone, with an unconvincing romance, over-the-top Russians and
predictable situation comedy. He is more successful getting good
performances out of the three children, whose conversion from Bob's
enemies to allies works better than it might have. As for Chan, he
seems overly made up and self-conscious about his English (he has
much more dialogue than usual). One wonders if his frequent
distressed looks stem from Bob's concern over his mission and the kids,
or Chan's worries about his next line. Typically, he fares better when
in action, although the editing often sabotages him. In one scene, he
performs his trademark vaulting-over-an-obstacle-in three-leaps move,
but the take is ruined by a cutaway reaction shot; and in a scene
reminiscent of his smashing shopping center finale of POLICE STORY, he
uses a banner to get from one escalator to another in search of an
errant child, but again this is done in several shots rather than the
astounding single takes Chan used in the earlier film. The fights, less
inventive than usual, are filmed too close, edited in too many takes and
resolved too quickly to be appreciated: In other words, they follow the
pattern of every American Jackie Chan film with the exception of
SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, in which director David Dobkin had the common sense to
give Chan the all time, preparation, and single continuous shots
necessary to come close to matching his legendary Hong Kong work.
Still, there are some fun moments where Chan must do battle while a
scared little girl clings to his leg, or while literally saddled by a
boy in a chair tied to Chan's back.
THE SPY NEXT
DOOR should please undemanding family audiences simply looking for a few
easy laughs, and of course Jackie Chan fans will enjoy an increasingly
rare opportunity to see him on the big screen in this country, even in
this diminished capacity. No one really expects the 55-year-old star to
match his exploits of old, and the thought of this physical magician on
wires (and there are plenty of examples here) is hard to swallow
but inevitable. In the end, that's the price to enjoy the company of an
old friend who, given the proper material, can still be immensely
charming. Love, it seems, can be a two-way street.
~ Patrick J. White
January 14th,
2010
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