Rush Hour (1998)

reviewed by
Jamie Peck


RUSH HOUR Reviewed by Jamie Peck


Rating: ** (out of ****) New Line / 1:40 / 1998 / PG-13 (language, ethnic slurs, violence, child in peril) Cast: Chris Tucker; Jackie Can; Elizabeth Pena; Tom Wilkinson; Philip Baker Hall; Mark Rolston; Tzi Ma; Rex Linn; Ken Leung; Chris Penn Director: Brett Ratner Screenplay: Jim Kouf; Ross Lamanna
Rarely does one's opinion of a film hang exclusively around their tolerance for its lead actor, but such is the case with "Rush Hour." The star in question is Chris Tucker, that manic motormouth to end all manic motormouths whose turns in "The Fifth Element" and "Money Talks" left audiences in convulsion fits - either they were on the floor laughing or having seizures induced by his helium-high voice. Yes, Chris Tucker is back and wound-up tighter than ever, and those who enjoy his bug-eyed ballistics can walk into theatres completely free of anxiety. Enjoying "Rush Hour," however, might be another matter entirely.

For the record, I don't mind Tucker much at all. Sure, he can be as irksome as fingernails on a blackboard at times, but so could Jim Carrey back in his pre-"Truman Show" days. Rather, the problem with him in "Rush Hour" is that his squealy self and frantic antics just don't sit well with the role he's playing - a rogue LAPD detective named James Carter. Check out the opening scene (which genre fans know has ultimately _very_little_ to do with the rest of the film), in which Carter takes part in a sting operation to trap an explosives dealer. Um, could he or his cop-endangering shtick be any harder to swallow?

"Rush Hour" becomes a little more palatable once Jackie Chan enters the picture, cast as a Hong Kong inspector who teams up with Carter to crack the kidnaping of the Chinese Consul's 11-year-old daughter, a case that spans their respective countries. Chan fans might be disappointed by how little the master martial artist gets to simultaneously display his flair for physical comedy and killer moves; a scene where he battles bad guys while protecting the priceless exhibits in an art museum is classic Chan, a scene where his Carter-inspired use of a racial epithet gets him in trouble in a bar full of African-Americans is not.

That bit aside, "Rush Hour"'s humor of choice seems to be disparaging quips directed at Asians ("I've been lookin' for your sweet-and-sour chicken a--!" Carter screeches to a Chinese bad guy); it wouldn't be funny if it were the other way around, and it's not funny the way it is. Much more successful is the film's comedy when it plays up the culture clash between Chan and Tucker; this star and star-on-the-rise have a nice rapport both on-screen and off, the latter evidenced by the now-notorious Chan tradition of showing outtakes over the end credits. Here, it's good stuff worth sticking around for, especially when the two slip up together.

The title must refer to a gridlock of cliches instead of cars -- not only do we get the mismatched-buddy-cop story, we also get the fish-out-of-water and renegade-man-of-the-law angles and a climactic red-wire-or-blue-wire moment to top everything off. Though nobody will presumably accuse "Rush Hour" of breaking new cinematic ground, it's a tad on the disheartening side that this match made in odd couple heaven fails to enhance the familiar plot motions to memorable lengths. If you're a praying person, get on your knees - then, maybe Chan and Tucker will get a screenplay that's up to their collective speed in the inevitable "Rush Hour 2."


© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit The Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/ "And not only do we see genitalia in this movie - they do exercises." -Roger Ebert on "Pink Flamingos"


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