Can another Saturday Night Live alum make the jump to the big screen? Even more important, can Jimmy Fallon make it through an entire film without laughing at how hilarious he thinks he is?
In Taxi, Detective Washburn (Jimmy Fallon) is an overeager undercover cop, he is also a terrible driver. In fact he is such a bad driver that when he gets a call to a bank robbery in progress, he hops into Belle’s (Queen Latifah) cab. Belle is sucked into the chase as the two try to track down a gang of very hot female models robbing banks throughout Manhattan.
Just to clue you in, I have never really liked Jimmy Fallon. On Saturday Night Live he always bothered me, it seemed like he was more focused on trying to look cute than be funny, on top of that, he could never manage to stifle his giggles in any of his skits.
Despite my personal opinion of Fallon he does the impossible in this film, he is funny and even likeable, and he doesn’t even crack up in one scene. *GASP* He manages to stay in character, and we are never once required to withstand one of Fallon’s Adam Sandler impersonations, thank God!
Queen Latifah is the balance to Fallon that makes this film work, she plays a streetwise, tough chick cabbie, whose best moments are when she unleashes verbal tirades onto Fallon for acting so stupid. She calls him on his faults and continues to prove herself as a rapper turned movie star.
Even though I didn’t want to, I had to laugh with this film. The plot is far from original, and at times the jokes are overly cliched, but it is still worthy of renting if not going to the theatre to see.
