'3BlackChicks Review...'
DOUBLE TAKE (2001) PG-13; running time 88 minutes Genre: Action Comedy Seen at: Lowes Star Southfield (Detroit, Michigan) Official site: http://www.doubletake.movies.com/ IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0238948 Written by: George Gallo (based on the story by Graham Greene) Directed by: George Gallo Cast: Orlando Jones, Eddie Griffin, Gary Grubbs, Garcelle Beauvais, Andrea Navedo, Edward Herrmann, Daniel Roebuck, Sterling Macer Jr., Benny Nieves, Vivica A. Fox
Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsdoubletake.html
I'm not mad that DOUBLE TAKE ("DT") was, for the most part, a pedestrian comedy with a fairly generic, and plot hole-filled, storyline. I'm not mad that most of DT's relatively funny scenes were shown in its trailer (and of those, that they all came at the beginning of the movie). I'm not even mad that, if DT is successful enough at the box office, Orlando Jones will likely get more Eddie Griffin-type roles offered to him than Orlando Jones-type roles (confused? I'll explain in a minute).
What I am mad about is that America has become so desensitized to the cuss word "nigga" - yeah, you heard; I called it a cuss word - that even in its liberal usage, DOUBLE TAKE can still get a PG-13 rating. MPAA President Jack Valenti, you oughta be ashamed of your two-faced self. But not as ashamed as those of Us who keep using that ugly term as if it were an honorific, should be.
The Story (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**): Nothing fancy here: Daryl Chase (Orlando Jones) is a successful wall street banker who stumbled across some Funny Money which is somehow tied to the Mexican corporation he, his assistant Shari (Vivica A. Fox), and his boss C.A. (Edward Herrmann) are trying to do business with. Pretty soon, Daryl discovers that he's being set up to take a fall, all the while being pursued by Martinez (Benny Nieves), Norville (Daniel Roebuck) and Gradney (Sterling Macer Jr). When the frame job turns into a charge of murder, he "borrows" the identity of the one person who might be able to help him - a street hustler named Freddy Tiffany (Eddie Griffin) - and on the advice of FBI agent T.J. McCready (Gary Grubbs), heads to Mexico. But, as Daryl soon finds out, appearances can be deceiving...
The Upshot: It's clear from the start that the story in DOUBLE TAKE is secondary to its main purpose, which is, primarily, to showcase the talents of its stars: standup comedian Eddie Griffin and comic actor Orlando Jones. In this sense, it worked, at least partially; especially as pertains to Jones.
I've seen Orlando Jones in a few previous roles: as one of the funnier players in the otherwise dull THE REPLACEMENTS; as The Black Guy [uh, sorry about that] in BEDAZZLED; and, yes, as the Comic Relief in some 7Up pop commercials. But in DT, Jones impressed me much more than in anything else I've ever seen him in - to the point where DT gets a flashing yellowlight rating solely on the strength of his participation. Jones' Daryl Chase was that rarity of Black comic skit characters: he was as believable playing Mr. Wall Street (importantly, without the unneeded Sellout Uncle Tom overtones) as he was the Schlitz Malt Liquor-seeking hoodie rat. The refreshing thing about his character, in Wall Street-mode, is that Jones portrayed him as a smart, ambitious, but realistic - and still Old School - achiever. In other words, Chase was Everyday Black Folk. As I said, my estimation of the movie was raised a notch because of Jones.
Even given my lowered expectations of this type of movie [everybody who expected Shakespeare In The Round, raise your hands. Thought so... ] there's still a limit on the amount of wiggle room I'll give a flick, "low-brow" or not. Eddie Griffin quickly reached that limit. Unlike Jones, Griffin never made me believe he was anything but the nigga-spouting street clown he portrayed from the start. Maybe I shouldn't be too hard on the brotha - after all, he is more a standup comedian than a bona fide actor - but hey, I calls it as I sees it. And as I sees it in DT, Griffin's welcome was worn out before the end of the first act. He lacked the charm of a Jamie Foxx or the depth of an Eddie Murphy [or is that vice-versa?]; and without much substance to work with, the flash he had, quickly dulled.
As expected, the supporting cast members were primarily in place to provide Jones and Griffin characters to bounce their schtick off of, though Garcelle Beauvais as Chase's sultry lingerie model girlfriend Chloe, and especially Andrea Navedo as the multi-faceted Maque Sanchez, provided a bit more than the standard Warm Place To Put It parts that one might predict of the female leads in an action comedy (strangely enough, Vivica A. Fox, the one cast member who might've added more to the DT stew, makes an early exit. Bad move, guys). Of the remaining cast, even a veteran character actor like Edward Herrmann seemed like so much jetsom and flotsam floating in a lifeless sea - though "Delores" - Freddy's lap dog - provided an unexpected chuckle or two of her own.
If it seems like I hated this movie, I really didn't; DT never went very far with me, but it did have its moments, and truthfully, Griffin did improve over time (once Freddy stopped playing Street, and stopped spouting "nigga", he was tolerable). DOUBLE TAKE just wasn't my cup o' tea; Your Method May, of course, Vary.
I just hope Hollywood casting agents start sending Orlando Jones scripts that allow him to showcase his acting and comedic skills without always and only requiring him to Act (their warped idea of) Black. The Orlando Jones I saw in DT wasn't the one-dimensional caricature that was his okay-we-get-it-dammit! costar. Here's hoping Jones allows his potential to be challenged even further, regardless of the shortsightedness of those who would typecast him. Fingers crossed.
Bammer's Bottom Line: I tried hard to keep my - can I make it plain? - my "boy, I hope White Folk ain't diggin' this clown" kneejerk sensitivity in check; I truly did. And I genuinely liked Orlando Jones here; with a minimum of over-the-top posturing, his Daryl Chase won me over, easily convincing me that Jones' talent runs deep. But there's only so much "nigga"ing I can take. And, along with it, only so much of the clowning Eddie Griffin.
DOUBLE TAKE (rating: flashing yellowlight): One take was quite enough, thankyewverramuch.
Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Movie Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/
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