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(About Our Ads) "TAXI" (2004) (Jimmy Fallon, Queen Latifah) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Extreme Mild Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Heavy Minor Moderate Moderate Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None None Moderate Heavy QUICK TAKE: Comedy: A bumbling cop and fast-driving cabbie reluctantly team up to catch some sexy bank robbers. PLOT: Andy Washburn (JIMMY FALLON) is a New York City detective who isn't very good at his job, especially when it comes to driving. After yet another accident, his boss and former girlfriend, Lt. Marta Robbins (JENNIFER ESPOSITO), takes away his license and reassigns him as a beat cop. Thus, when he hears of a Manhattan bank robbery, he doesn't commandeer a car, but instead gets Belle Williams (QUEEN LATIFAH) to drive him there. She's a former bike courier turned brand-new cabbie with a souped-up car and a desire to become a NASCAR driver one day. Accordingly, she has no problem keeping up with the exotic Vanessa (GISELE BÜNDCHEN) and her three Brazilian bank robber accomplices who dress as men to pull off their heists. Andy and Belle get a look at the robbers, but don't manage to catch them, a point that doesn't impress Marta or newly arrived FBI Agent Mullins (CHRISTIAN KANE) who's now in charge of the case. He keeps Belle's cab as evidence, a point that doesn't sit well with her or her boyfriend Jesse (HENRY SIMMONS) when she doesn't show up for dinner with him. The two then form an unlikely alliance where Belle needs Andy to get her cab back and he needs her to help catch the bank robbers and thus repair his credibility in the department and with Marta. With some help from Andy's lush mom (ANN-MARGRET), the two set out to accomplish both missions. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of someone in the cast they might, but other than teenagers with time to kill, I don't imagine it will be a big draw among any other kids. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For language, sensuality and brief violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JIMMY FALLON plays an incompetent police detective whose bad driving costs him his license and then his badge. Yet, he continues to work on the case with Belle in hopes of getting both his job and Marta back. QUEEN LATIFAH plays a bike courier turned cabbie who loves driving fast and wants to become a racecar driver. She reluctantly assists Andy but becomes more interested in solving the case the more she becomes involved with it. She uses some profanity and makes out with her boyfriend. JENNIFER ESPOSITO plays Andy's boss and former girlfriend who wants to give him one break after another, but eventually draws the line over his incompetence. GISELE BÜNDCHEN plays the sexy Brazilian bank robber leader who knocks off various banks and shoots at others. HENRY SIMMONS Belle's boyfriend who becomes increasingly upset when he thinks she repeatedly stands him up, although they do make out from time to time. ANN-MARGRET plays Andy's alcoholic mother. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of a partial "f" word and 10 "s" words, while other expletives are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present, various women are seen in revealing attire (with the camera focusing on their bodies), some making out occurs and a woman purposefully and sensuously gropes another woman's clothed body parts while frisking her. Violence consists of people shooting at others (two are hit and wounded), various car chases with property damage, and people hitting or otherwise striking others. Some of that material might possibly be suspenseful to some younger viewers (although most of it's played for comedy and/or action), while the wild driving and other behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, some brief vomit-related material occurs and several characters get high from nitrous oxide, while one is drunk several times and appears to be an alcoholic. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Belle sees that her boyfriend had champagne (a bottle) waiting for them with dinner. While on the job and undercover, Andy says that he and some other people will have some tequila and cerveza. Andy and Belle accidentally get high (with a case of the giggles) after inhaling nitrous oxide that's being released from a gas tank into a room. After Belle asks if Andy's mom is drunk, he replies, "Always." Later, the mom states that she's getting the spins and thus must go to bed, but takes a blender full of margaritas with her. Andy's mom states that she made margaritas and she appears to be drunk. Andy's mom tells Jesse that they should have a "cold one" and Andy says that she needs one. BLOOD/GORE We see a guy bend over a trashcan and hear him vomit (from being carsick). Andy makes a comment about being seasick and then makes a burp-like sound, stating that he swallowed "it." Vanessa shoots at Andy, Marta and Belle (from a distance) and we then see that Belle was hit in the shoulder (we see some blood on her shirt). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Vanessa and her team have bad attitudes for robbing banks and attempting to kill other people. Belle tells a white fare that she normally doesn't pick up white passengers (but is doing so now to balance the universe). Belle eludes the police while on the job (speeding and swerving through traffic) as they chase after her. We hear that Belle has 75 moving violations (on her bike). Andy tries to drive out of a parallel parking space, but instead repeatedly drives forward and back into the cars on either side of his. Belle then makes him move over and drives both of them away (without any notice to the owners of the cars they damaged). When Andy's mom first sees Belle (who's black), his mom states, "Nice catch...Jungle fever." Andy lies about Belle being a cop so that they can get her cab out of the impound lot. We see a bad guy who's in cahoots with the robbers and who has taken a man's wife or mother hostage to make that man work for them. The robbers have a teenage boy as their hostage. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers, as might various car chase sequences as well as the following. A cop pulls over the bank robbers (not realizing they're who they are) and asks to look inside the trunk. As he prepares to do so, the ladies ready their guns (but nothing violent occurs). Andy slowly enters a room with his gun drawn. The robbers have a teenage boy as their hostage. Andy repeatedly tries to pull Marta from the robbers' car over to Belle's cab, but oncoming traffic and other obstacles create problems for doing that, as well as various close calls of Marta being hit by all of that. Belle slams on the brakes as two other cars beside her fly off a bridge under construction and then land on an isolated piece of bridging. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Automatic Rifles: Used to rob banks as well as threaten, wound or attempt to kill others. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: An incomplete "Buckle up for safety motherf..." "This is bullsh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Shut the hell up," "Oh hell no," "What the hell /is your problem/are you doing?" "Damn, I'm good," "You idiot," "Are you out of your freaking mind?" "Be cool," "He's such a loser," "Pissed off," "Stupid idiot," "Take his stinking ass out of here," "Where the hell are you?"? "Damn fool," "Jeez," "Get your ass over there," "Everyone just chill out," "You didn't see my nabs did you?" "Hell no," "Frisk his ass," "You jackass," "Ace Dumbturra," "Chick," "Dumb ass," "I hate you freaking guts," "Hell no," "Damn straight," "Screw up," "It will knock you on your G*ddamn ass," "Grown ass," "Hell yeah," "Crazy ass," "You're an idiot," "My bad," "Dag," "Nigger" (heard in a song), "You got punked," "Haul ass," and "Nabs" and "Balls" (testicles). All of the wild driving and related stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate as might the bank robber behavior. Working as a bike courier in some sort of competition, Belle races through the streets, stores and subway of Manhattan on her bike (going through a department store, deflecting off a parked truck, down stairs, through a subway car and off a bridge onto a moving truck below it and then down to the street). Belle eludes the police while on the job (speeding and swerving through traffic) as they chase after her. Andy tries to drive out of a parallel parking space, but instead repeatedly drives forward and back into the cars on either side of his. Belle then makes him move over and drives both of them away (without any notice to the owners of the cars they damaged). Andy and Belle accidentally get high (with a case of the giggles) after inhaling nitrous oxide that's being released from a canister into a room. Vanessa wears a midriff-revealing top several times. The bank robbers peel fake paint and other disguise related elements from their bank robbery car. The ladies burn their getaway clothes in a trash dumpster. JUMP SCENES The sudden sound of gunfire (during some target practice) might startle some viewers. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful and action-oriented music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song uses the "s" word and the term "nigger" several times. Other songs had lyrics that we couldn't understand/hear, thus offering the possibility of them potentially containing additional objectionable lyrics. PROFANITY At least 1 incomplete "f" word (used with "mother"), 10 "s" words, 1 slang term possibly using female genitals ("sn*tch"), 20 damns, 13 hells, 12 asses, 8 uses of "Oh my God," 3 of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Oh God," "Oh Jesus" and "Oh Lord." SEX/NUDITY Belle tells some male couriers that she stayed ahead of them just because she knew they enjoyed the view (meaning of her backside). Jesse suggestively tells Belle that there's only one thing he likes "on you baby and that's me." They then do some passionate kissing. Later, she returns home and he's asleep in bed. We then see her lift a sheet and make a pleasured "mmmm" sound, but then see that she's lifted a sheet off her souped-up cab, and not him as we're initially led to believe. Belle shows some cleavage several times during the movie. The camera pans up the bodies of Vanessa and her female associates as they appear in tight and short skirts (as the song "Wild Thing" keeps repeating that title lyric). Marta shows some cleavage. After dropping his handgun in the back of Belle's cab, Andy tries to retrieve it, with his clothed butt ending up next to Belle's face as she drives (played for comedy). After Andy has presumably just changed clothes in a car, he asks Belle if she saw his "nabs" (testicles). Andy makes an analogy about guys being like cats in liking to play with a ball of yarn (which, due to the way it's said, could be a subtle analogy for female genitalia). About his relationship with Marta, Andy tells Belle that you can cut the sexual tension with a knife. Later, Belle says that there's no sexual tension, just regular tension. Vanessa and her companions strip out of their bank robber clothes down to their bras (or bikini tops that show cleavage) and very small shorts (with the camera panning up their body in close-up). We then see them again in such attire and acting somewhat sexily toward a cop who pulls them over. A male cop refers to Vanessa as a "foxy little..." (but doesn't finish the thought). Jesse and Belle do some passionate, clothed kissing in front of Andy and his mom (she states that it's like watching pay per view). Belle makes up her police name as "Officer Good-Snatch." Vanessa shows some cleavage. After Marta exchanges herself as the robbers' hostage, Vanessa sensuously frisks her entire body, starting with groping her clothed butt and then moving on to her breasts and then over her crotch. This causes Andy to become somewhat excited and another male cop states, "Would you take me too?" We see some more of that frisking during the film's outtakes during the end credits. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Bank robbers. How real police detectives work. Driving the way Belle does throughout the movie. We hear that Belle has 75 moving violations (on her bike). Alcoholism. VIOLENCE Belle's fare is thrown all around the backseat as she speeds and swerves her way toward the airport. A criminal shoots Andy's partner in the shoulder and that man and other thugs then flee. Andy accidentally drives his partner's car in reverse through a corner market and into a building (we later hear that a cop's parrot was killed in the accident). While trying to get a vehicle to stop that he can commandeer, Andy accidentally causes a massive, multi-vehicle car crash (with some flying through the air and landing on others). Andy accidentally shoots out one of Belle's cab windows with his gun. Andy shoots at Vanessa's getaway car several times, hitting one of her tires. When Belle won't return his badge to him, Andy points his handgun at her, but she then grabs that from him and other cops show up on the scene and aim guns at them until they realize it's Andy. We see a tape of a previous bank robbery where the robbers shoot out the security cameras with their guns. Belle pushes Andy back against some metal steps and holds her forearm to his throat. A robber hits Andy on the face, knocking him out and to the ground. She then punches Belle unconscious as well. When the two wake up, they're strung up from the ceiling. Vanessa then holds a gun on the two of them, but Andy manages to get it away from her and he shoots at her and the other robbers. In turn, they return fire at Andy and Belle who are now hiding in another room (riddling the door with bullets). A car that's been set on fire by the robbers explodes. After Jesse has taken a blow torch to Andy's badge (not seen) and handed it back to him, Andy burns his hand on it. A robber shoots a gun from a cop's hand and then shoots out a tire. Vanessa then drives down the sidewalk during their getaway, mowing down a table and chairs in the process. During the ensuing car chase, various cars crash into each other and more tires are shot out. Andy and Belle end up driving across a fire hydrant. A robber knocks out a guard and three of the robbers then fire their guns, but we don't see what they were shooting at. Andy jumps down onto a bad guy after the latter holds a gun on Belle. Vanessa shoots at Andy, Marta and Belle (from a distance) and we then see that Belle was hit in the shoulder (we see some blood on her shirt). Andy drives through an emergency room glass wall to get an injured Belle there. Reviewed October 4, 2004 / Posted October 6, 2004