The Spy Next Door (2010)

Former C.I.A. spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids, who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau.

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

Jonathan Bernstein (screenplay), James Greer (screenplay)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, Billy Ray Cyrus

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Bob Ho
Amber Valletta	...	Gillian
Madeline Carroll	...	Farren
Will Shadley	...	Ian
Alina Foley	...	Nora
Magnús Scheving	...	Anton Poldark (as Magnus Scheving)
Billy Ray Cyrus	...	Colton James
George Lopez	...	Glaze
Katherine Boecher	...	Creel
Mia Stallard	...	Cute Girl
Maverick McWilliams	...	Chad
Quinn Mason	...	Carl
Margaret Murphy	...	Mom
Esodie Geiger	...	Principal
Arron Shiver	...	Scientist

Storyline

Former CIA spy Bob Ho takes on his toughest assignment to date: looking after his girlfriend's three kids (who haven't exactly warmed to their mom's beau). When one of the youngsters accidentally downloads a top-secret formula, Bob's longtime nemesis, a Russian terrorist, pays a visit to the family.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | spy | single mother | terrorist | chinese | 

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Taglines:

Spying is easy, babysitting is hard.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of action violence and some mild rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Production Notes

Country:

USA

Language:

Chinese Russian English

Release Date:

15 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spy Next Door

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,877,043, 17 January 2010, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$24,268,828, 28 February 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Relativity Media, Robert Simonds Productions, Spy Next Door

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With this movie, Jackie Chan appreciated the opportunity to try his hand at a family comedy that focuses on his relationship with kids. Chan said: "I really like to make children laugh. I really enjoy hearing from kids that they like my movies."

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Goofs

When testing the biological weapon, the question is asked: "What happened to the bacteria?" The scientist answers: "They live as long as they feed. Once the oil is gone, they disappear." If that were true, they could not have stored the bacteria in the first place without constantly feeding them.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nora: Mom! Jethro's eating my underwear!
[pronounced 'unduweahw']

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes from the film play during the end credits.

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Connections

Features Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Way It Was
Written and Performed by Daniel May
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/MasterSource

User Reviews

I spy a cute, cute family film.....the latest Jackie Chan movie!

Bob Ho (Jackie Chan), a very successful CIA spy, is retiring from the business. Although he likes his co-workers, including Colton (Billy Ray Cyrus) and his boss (George Lopez), he want a "normal" life. Cornering a Russian gangster will be his final "hurrah". In truth, Bob has fallen in love with a beautiful divorcée, Gillian (Amber Valletta) and wants to marry her. Trouble is, she has three cantankerous kids, Fallan (Madeleine Carroll), Ian and Nora. Whenever he arrives at their house, they find ways to humiliate him. So, when Gillian has to leave town to attend to a sick father, Bob sees an opportunity for him to "get closer" to the children. He'll babysit for them! After all, as Bob says, he has brought down dictators so he can certainly deal with three kids. Ha! Things go wrong almost immediately. Bob can't cook breakfasts the kids will eat, he has trouble stopping squabbles and he finds bedtime rules are difficult to enforce. Most seriously, Ian downloaded a secret file from Bob's computer and now the Russian badguys are after them! Can Bob manage to dodge bullets as he carpools the kiddies to school? This is a cute family film that should please almost everyone. It has a fine story, a zippy direction, a lot of action, and a nice cast. Chan is, as always, a wonderfully comic performer whose smile can light up the world. His inventive martial arts movements are mirthful, too. The rest of the cast, including Carroll, Cyrus, Lopez, and the others, are great, too. As for the settings, costumes, and production values, they are of the top-shelf variety. Especially beautiful is the suburban home where Gillian's family lives. All in all, everyone in the family will spy a winner here, during a showing, and be pleased as punch when the credits roll at film's end.