“Taxi” (20th Century Fox)
Queen Latifah and ex- “SNL” star Jimmy Fallon combine their talents to take the audience on a joyride in “Taxi.” This movie has car chases galore, laugh out loud comedy sequences, and the sexy presence of Giselle Bundchen as a bank robber. The only negative is a less than thrilling ending, it just seems tacked on. But stick around for the outtakes and you will leave the theater on a high note.
Fallon plays a cop named Washburn who is a risk on the streets of New York when he is driving. After several accidents his boss/girlfriend (Jennifer Esposito) takes away his license and assigns him to the streets as a beat cop. One day he is listening to his scanner and hears a report of a bank robbery in progress. Since he can’t drive he flags down a cab, driven by Belle (Latifah), and orders her to drive to the bank.
They arrive just as the crooks are leaving and a high-speed chase ensues. Belle can drive a car, but so can Vanessa (Bundchen) the lead robber. The crooks get away but Washburn and Belle form an alliance to try and hunt them down.
Latifah has always had an easy-going likeable style in movies. In this film her personality clicks with Fallon’s and gives the movie a boost. Fallon is solid as Washburn but it is mainly Latifah’s movie and he just supports her.
Bundchen makes a definite impression with her tanned legs stretching up to her armpits, and her sultry manner almost earning an R rating on its own. Ann-Margaret has a funny cameo as Washburn’s frequently inebriated mother.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and mild violence.
“Taxi” is the kind of movie you watch with your eyes but not your brain. There are no profound life lessons to be learned here. It is all about fast cars, beautiful women, and funny situations. And for a lot of us that is enough.
Hop into this Taxi for a ride through the streets of New York that will have you on the edge of your seats with the thrill of the ride. It is a laugh along comedy that bodes well for Fallon’s big screen career.
I scored “Taxi” a meter running 7 out of 10.
