The Tuxedo

Why, oh why, do American producers insist on tossing Jackie Chan (a martial arts superstar and estimable comedian in his own right) over and over into a series of annoying buddy pictures? It’s the money, stupid! With Chris Tucker in Rush Hour and Owen Wilson in Shaghai Noon, Chan has built two formidable franchises in which the impressiveness of the martial arts action (Wow Factor) decreases in direct proportion to the amount of inane situational humor (Groan Factor). The makers of The Tuxedo can’t even decide who’s supposed to be Chan’s instantly marketable buddy. First, it’s Jason Isaacs as Chan’s boss, a Brit secret agent named Clark Devlin and whose tux contains hidden powers. When Devlin gets knocked out for a few days and Chan dons the monkey suit, it’s Jennifer Love Hewitt as a junior-grade spy who thinks Chan is Devlin. They must foil an evil billionaire who wants to—more with the groans—poison the world’s water supply. And since when does Chan need invisible wires and camera effects to do his stunts