Really had little to do with a rush hour. It seems that in LA the traffic jam was a pretense for the kidnapping of a young girl. Really, this movie centred around something that could not be encapsulated in two words. This is a cop comedy that is also a juxtaposition of extremes from the east and the west. Likely written by a white guy in his basement (note: upon some basic internet research, survey says: it is), this movie is based on the balancing of two different sets of racial stereotypes.
In some ways, we can view this as positive. It inverts the usual racialized sidekick by having them both act equally in this capacity to each other. And, the criminal turns out to be white. So... a big step forward for the film industry?
I think not. This movie had lots of stuff blow up. It also had lots of jokes surrounding mispronunciation and cultural assimilation... I found it was funny, but never in a laugh-out-loud kind of way. I felt like it both was and wasn't trying to be politically correct. It definitely was appealing to the lowest common denominator... In some ways I kind of felt like it was meant to give them a little "culture". What it actually did was showcase how sad and conventional American culture and the film industry continue to be. In this way, I am glad it happened. At least there is no illusions about what we are dealing with here.
Watching the little girl sing along to the radio was sweet. Watching Jackie Chan do the same thing was, well... taking an icon from one country and depriving him of his masculinity and status. He became the butt of the joke, which, I guess, at least made him a ton of money.
Chris Tucker's shrill voice will probably keep me awake tonight. Yeesh.
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