TAXI (2004)

Add Review To List
Add Film To List
Write Your Own Review

"A pleasantly satisfying ride through what should have been standard fare. "

Taxi's dichotomy is pretty well spelled out by its cast. When you hear Queen Latifah, you expect something halfway decent. After all, she's proven she can carry herself in a comedy with the best of them - Steve Martin, Will Smith, Ice Cube (well, you get the idea). At first glance, you imagine a film about halfway decent. Then, they announce Jimmy Fallon. Well... now our expectations have plummeted like the Dow. Sure he had his moments on 'Saturday Night Live', but can this goofball who couldn't deliver his lines when their written on cue cards actually co-carry a multi-million dollar comedy? Well, for all its division, 'Taxi' actually manages to balance its sometimes cringe-worthy silliness with some light-hearted laughs, a decent story and some spectacular car chases.

As seems to be standard in Hollywood these days, this film is NOT an original but yet another remake. The identically titled 1998 French version was written by the great Luc Besson ('Fifth Element', 'La Femme Nikita', 'Kiss of the Dragon'). The plot is very similar, teaming a fast-driving cabbie with the city's unlikeliest policeman to stop a group of Bank Robbers. This time, however, we get a wacky urban tone that caters more to laughs than story.

To be fair, when you first hear that synopsis you don't exactly picture this year's best picture winner. Nor should you. This is strictly a pumped up popcorn movie that plays itself for chuckles while trying to thrill you with its action. In that light, Taxi succeeds in its goal.

Queen Latifah brings the toughest acting chops to the table and rightfully steals the show when Fallon falters. She's charming, real and sympathetic - all that Fallon is not. She easily balances her character's street-wise nonchalance with tender moments of compassion and even romance (though thankfully not with Fallon).

Jimmy-boy, on the other hand, is about as good as he was on SNL. As the token foul-up, he does at least achieve a believability as both a half-way decent cop and a total moron. If he's smart, he'll keep the trend going of surrounding him with better actors who somehow make him look funnier than he is. The same could be said for supermodel Giselle's first go round. With the exception of one scene (where she actually dons a convincing American accent) she's pretty much relegated to eye candy with the rest of her covergirl cohorts. The only one to give Latifah a real run for her money is Jennifer Esposito who lights up the screen for the five minutes she appears.

The comedic tone ranges between childish and endearing, though never really hits that homer to win the game. The laughs are fairly decent for its target audience, but Grandma will probably just be confused.

The real bright spot comes from the stunts - car chases to be exact. Director Tim Story seems to warm up with the jokes, plot and character development, then puts it into high gear once he reaches the highway. Latifah's suped-up cab is tricked out enough to make both 'Batman' and the cast of 'The Fast and the Furious' green with envy. Pitting it against Giselle's equally impressive BMW, the battle between these two turns New York into the INDY 500 in a way that never fails to disappoint while exceeding traditional expectations and keeping the audience literally on the edge of their seat.

Overall, Taxi is a pleasantly satisfying ride through what should have been standard fare. It's not going to go down as a hallmark in either Latifah's or Fallon's career, but it's definitely a rib-tickling and eye-popping diversion for a couple of hours. Now, if they make a Taxi 2... be afraid. Be very afraid.