DVD REVIEW: THE TUXEDO


	DVD REVIEW: "THE TUXEDO"

Release Date: February 26, 2003

Press Release: TeenHollywood.com

by Lynn Barker

The Event: Teen Hollywood was invited to a very unusual fashion show hosted by Mr. Blackwell to kick off the release of The Tuxedo on DVD.

Dreamworks took the term "monkey suit" very seriously and commissioned several L.A. fashion institute students to design tuxes to be modeled by..chimps. Designs were judged on use of color, creativity and overall presentation.

The winning designer, Clarione Gutierrez, was happy with his $5,000 scholarship and Hollywood Animals simian models Mowgli, Bella, Jonah, Jacob and Ellie never looked so dapper and/or lovely. The award was presented to Gutierrez by a ravishing chimp dressed in a Lara Flynn Boyle pink tutu dress! All-in-all, a lot of enjoyable monkey business. Now about that DVD.....

Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan), a fast-driving cabbie, gets a high paying job chauffeuring for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs) and is told to never touch his boss's tuxedo. But when Devlin is temporarily put out of commission in an explosive "accident," Jimmy can't resist trying on the tux and soon discovers that Devlin is a spy and the experimental suit is not just suave but kick-butt as well. Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of espionage with rookie partner Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Jimmy becomes an ill-prepared but well dressed secret agent.

What is a Jackie Chan film without bloopers? If you enjoyed the film, you'll love the outtakes that include Jackie's famous stunts gone wrong and a constantly giggling Jennifer-Love Hewitt. Deleted and Extended Scenes include a Bond-like drowning inside a sealed-up limo and a more complete James Brown/Jackie Chan song and dance routine that is a lot of fun. An HBO "First Look" special on the film contains commentary by Jackie, Jennifer, director Kevin Donovan, Jason Issacs and shots of Jennifer training for all her wire work and martial arts stunts. A nice making-of addition.

Nothing spectacular here but overall, a very worthy addition to the collections of Jackie Chan or Jennifer fans.

Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.