Code Name: The Cleaner (2007)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers (WGA):

Robert Adetuyi (written by) and
George Gallo (written by)

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

In a dirty world, he's our only hope.

Plot:

Cedric the Entertainer plays Jake, a seemingly regular guy who has no idea who he is after being hit...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Clogs | Spy | Thong | Parking Lot

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Cedric the Entertainer	...	Jake Rodgers
Lucy Liu	...	Gina
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Diane
Mark Dacascos	...	Eric Hauck
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Shaw
Niecy Nash	...	Jacuzzi
DeRay Davis	...	Ronnie
Will Patton	...	Riley
Kevin McNulty	...	Doctor Soames
BJ Davis	...	Old Timer (as Beau Davis)
Bart Anderson	...	Charlie
Tom Butler	...	Crane
Robert Clarke	...	The Butler
Rick Tae	...	Mini Bar Attendant
Kurt Max Runte	...	Dead FBI Agent

Also Known As:

The Cleaner (USA) (informal short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, crude humor and some violence.

Runtime:

84 min | USA:91 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42643) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:12A | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Vancouver International Airport, Sea Island, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Elizabeth Hurley was the original choice for Diane.

Goofs:

Continuity: In scenes involving the little red car throughout the film - internal shots have no rear view mirror while in external shots the mirror is back.

Quotes:

Jake Rodgers: I'm Special Op's.
Gina: Try Special Mops.

Movie Connections:

References First Blood (1982)

Soundtrack:

Ur Uh Freak

The user rating is 2.6. Thank God!

Cedric the Entertainer is certainly a talented comedian, but with a script this boring and stupid, even he couldn't breathe life into this horrible mess of a comedy. Despite the bad reviews, I was still slightly eager to check out the movie. The year has just started and already I have a candidate for the worst movies of 2007. The spy comedy has been done to death. And the fact that the writers had nothing new to bring to the table didn't help. I must've chuckled a total of 5 times, and received no laughs whatsoever. As the movie (thankfully) approached its conclusion, I jokingly thought to myself, "This is probably one of those flicks that contains a gag reel over the closing credits." Well...I was right! I frequently disapprove of gag reels over the credits of good movies. When you show a gag reel after a bad movie, it's like rubbing salt on a wound. The only part of this movie worth checking out is Nicolette Sheridan doing an erotic dance in her lingerie. If the movie ever makes it to HBO On Demand, I suggest you just fast-forward to that particular scene, mute the sound, and watch it in a loop. Yes, it's that friggin' hot! As for the comedy, expect your usual assortment of bland, crude, sitcom-style gags. If you can't see the punchlines to each gag coming a mile away, you might want to consider getting a cat scan. In one scene, a janitor (one of Cedric's co-workers) is interrogated by a federal agent in a restroom. The agent points a gun at him, urging him to give him some information about Cedric's character. The janitor is an aspiring rapper, and goes on a whole rant about how he wants to be shot, since he wants to be the first rapper to write his songs while in a coma. He bends over, begging the agent to shoot him in the backside. The agent eventually leaves the restroom, as the janitor keeps screaming out, "Put a bullet in my a**! Put it in my a**! Put it in my as**!" And--guess what--one of his fellow janitors strolls into the restroom as he continues to scream out, "Put it in my a**!" Unless you're a teenager who will laugh at all things scatological, you might want to consider putting a bullet in your own rear end for finding an outrageously stupid gag like that funny. My God! How screenwriters actually get paid to write this crap still boggles my mind! A man of Cedric's talent is capable of doing much, much more, as he's shown in the "Barbershop" movies. But when given rotten material like this, he attempts to mend each failed joke with improvisation, which in turn makes the jokes even more annoying.