Despite the numerous failures Jackie Chan had in trying to break into Hollywood, and now that he has, it still seems that he never quite learnt the moral of is conquest. Simply put, this was equal, nay I correct myself, can be classed below some of his other failures in terms of quality. But fortunately he has become a big enough star for the film to be pulled off - but only just
I won't try to sum up the plot, partly because it's be done by others already, and partly because it is so disjointed and skewed that it struggles to make any sense. Frankly, the intelligence level of the characters appeared to be equivalent to that of a carrot, and indeed the writers seemed to share that intelligence. Even Saturday morning kids cartoons (including Jackie's own) have much greater knowledge than this!
After the success of the Rush Hour films, and Shanghai Noon/Knights, this film was a sheer disappointment. I love seeing Jackie Chan as part of a double act in his English language films, but The Tuxedo shows he can't quite pull it off alone. Jennifer Love Hewitt appeared as simple window dressing for Chan, and despite the miniscule amount of chemistry that did appear (better than none), Chan looked desperate in trying to pull of his one-liners.
It is hard to understand how the script left the storyboard as it did. The plot isn't the worst in the world, but the way the film was constructed left very little artistic and entertainment value. It was almost too rushed. And written without Jackie Chan in mind, I feel. It's too formulaic, too 'let's make a quick buck'.
I am a devoted Jackie Chan fan and one of my life's joys was the fortune to meet him and to organise his appearance at Oxford University in 2000. It's hard for a fan to criticise his hero, but sometimes he must, especially when, as in this case, his loyal fans pay money only to be disappointed.
The Tuxedo has to be one of Jackie's lowlights. I very much hope that the man can continue to work on good scripts such as Rush Hour and leave behind the non-comical, formulaic scripts such as the Tuxedo that seem to have been written while on the toilet seat.
Sorry Jackie, but one I have to advise to avoid.
