Susan Granger’s review of “Taxi” (20th Century-Fox)
Based on Luc Besson’s 1998 hit, this new buddy comedy features Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” as Andy Washburn, a bumbling, inept New York City undercover detective who is pursuing a gang of clever bank robbers who turn out to be stunning Brazilian supermodels on a crime spree, led by leggy Vanessa (sexy model Gisele Bundchen, making her screen debut). Having lost his driver’s license and eager to impress his police sergeant and former girlfriend (Jennifer Esposito), Washburn hails a souped-up cab that’s driven by a strong, self-confident speed-demon named Belle (Queen Latifah), who has her own backstory with an ardent suitor (Henry Simmons), a construction worker who is eager to settle down. And then there’s Washburn’s tipsy, overprotective mother (Ann-Margret) Adapted by Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon and Jim Kouf and directed by Tim Story (“Barbershop”), it’s all extended car chases through Midtown Manhattan, even to New Jersey, accompanied by off-beat, role-reversing repartee and an odd-couple camaraderie. In the original French film, the taxi driver character was played by a man, but the filmmakers astutely gauged that brassy Queen Latifah’s exuberant charisma could make up for Fallon’s comedic fallibility that rapidly becomes obvious here in his first major feature film role. And Belle’s customized Ford Crown Victoria, combining elements from the Ford Mustang, Formula One racing vehicles and James Bond’ish fantasy vehicles, becomes a worthy competitor for Vanessa’s paint-peeling V-12-powered BMW 760Li. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Taxi” is a silly, screeching 5 – with high-speed, non-stop action that clearly defines it as a Fall popcorn picture.
