Except for a couple of Cedric’s ad-libs, which are funnier in the closing-credit outtakes than in the movie itself, the whole thing is just lame and inane.
Code Name: The Cleaner (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:78
Fresh:3
Rotten:75
Average Rating:2.9/10
Consensus: Code Name: The Cleaner is a limp action/comedy flick that alternates between lame, worn-out jokes and cheesy martial arts.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for sexual content, crude humor and some violence
Runtime: 84 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Jan 5, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $8,104,069
Synopsis: Cedric the Entertainer (JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION, BARBERSHOP) stars as Jake, a bumbling amnesiac, in the spy-parody caper CODE NAME: THE CLEANER. Waking up next to a dead FBI agent and a briefcase... Cedric the Entertainer (JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION, BARBERSHOP) stars as Jake, a bumbling amnesiac, in the spy-parody caper CODE NAME: THE CLEANER. Waking up next to a dead FBI agent and a briefcase full of money, and with flashbacks to his combat training, Jake suspects he's actually an undercover operative. He comes into contact with numerous characters who add to his confusion: Diane (Nicollette Sheridan), a blond bombshell claiming to be his wife; Gina (Lucy Liu), a feisty waitress who insists she's his girlfriend; and employees of a computer technology company who are adamant that he's a janitor. The film escalates into a race against the clock--while piecing his past together Jake realizes he holds a valuable secret and must thwart a group of dangerous agents who are after him. Fun for the whole family, CODE NAME: THE CLEANER includes some hilarious moments and showcases Cedric's endearing comic appeal as the anti-James Bond. Liu (KILL BILL, CHARLIE'S ANGELS) gets to show off her well-known fighting moves and DeRay Davis (SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS) is a scene stealer as a fast-talking janitor/wannabe-rapper. Although the plot drags a bit, there is plenty of fast-paced action and steamy content thanks to Sheridan and Liu, whose provocative scenes add heavy doses of sex appeal to the film. [More]
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan, Elizabeth Hurley
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan, Elizabeth Hurley, Callum Keith Rennie, Mark Dacascos, De Ray Davis, Will Patton
Director: Les Mayfield
Director: Les Mayfield
Producer: Brett Ratner, Jay Stern, Eric C. Rhone, John Cheng
Composer: George S. Clinton
Studio: New Line Cinema
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Reviews for Code Name: The Cleaner
It's a bad sign for a comedy when viewers are left pining for more ineptly staged shoot-'em-up sequences.
Hollywood certainly didn't waste anytime in turning out its first insulting blaxploitation flick of 2007.
It's Memento for dummies. But to this movie's credit, I couldn't follow it, either.
The Entertainer conjures up some charm, and DeRay Davis provides pyrotechnics as a janitor/wanna-be rapper, but like the teddy-clad bubble-bath square-off between Liu and Sheridan, it’s just not enough.
Cedric's style of humor seems to be stating the obvious, but doing it really fast. He mumbles out loud and makes lame observations.
too clumsy to be the sophisticated parody of memory-loss films it might have been, too bland for its action sequences to kick any ass, too dumbed-down to make much out of the clashes of race, class and gender at the heart of its fish-out-of-water comedy
There's some pretty good improvised shtick from DeRay Davis as a wacky janitor. But these are small pleasures in a movie that never really generates any serious laughs.
A bunch of small disasters, collected together and fed to Cedric the Entertainer.
The outtakes in the closing credits were the funniest parts of the movie.
[A] cheerfully dumb spy comedy filled with ridiculous stereotypes and plot holes as big as cartoon anvils.
Somewhere, John Candy and Chris Farley are high-fivin' each other that they died before headlining this stinker.
Although comprised of lowest-common denominator gags, it’s an oddly hard-to-follow affair, with good and bad FBI agents popping up everywhere and the plot only revealing itself in fits and starts.
A faux thriller plot has something to do with a stolen computer chip. The chip isn't the only thing missing from this tepid concoction. You may be hard pressed to find real laughs, with Cedric proving more affable than funny.
The idea is that given the basic premise, the comedian will fill in the gaps with his own bits of business. Cedric is hardly up to the task. Though he's a scene stealer in other people's movies, he relies on tired reactions ("heeellll naw" is his mantra).
Latest News for Code Name: The Cleaner
January 22, 2008:
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No awards season -- even a strike-tainted one -- would be complete without the Razzies, right? Of course not. And that's why we've thoughtfully assembled all of this year's... More...
April 27, 2007:
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January 08, 2007:
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There was no stopping the runaway smash comedy Night at the Museum which North American audiences picked as their favorite film for the third straight weekend. New releases were... More...
January 04, 2007:
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Three new releases welcome in the new year this weekend, but moviegoers are likely to keep spending their cash on holiday holdovers. More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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