Friday, November 25, 2011

The Spy Next Door (2010) PG - 3½ Stars

Cute family movie with plenty of action, drama and laughs. Nice to see Jackie Chan using his talents in a fun way. He plays a Chinese International spy working with the CIA while trying to fit into a normal suburban neighborhood. He lives next door to a single mom raising three children, a cat, a turtle and a pig. As the mother and he get closer, the kids do everything possible to sabotage their relationship as they fear getting close to another father figure.

Even though the villain's are Maxwell Smart silly, their characters and stunts are fun and entertaining. The children are believable as Chan teaches them the art of love and respect. He goes from being super boring to super cool, winning their trust and love. But mom's not to thrilled with his antics that have put her children in harms way. Now it's up to the children to pull the group back together. Fun for the entire family.

Bob Ho (Jackie Chan), is a somewhat retired International spy. He's secretly on loan to the CIA, working with Agent Glaze (George Lopez) and Bob's best friend, Agent Colton James (Billy Ray Cyrus). Trying to lead a normal life, he lives next door to the girl he is seeing, single mom Gillian (Amber Valletta), and her family of three, stepdaughter Farren (Madeline Carroll), son Ian (Will Shadley), and Nora (Alina Foley). The kids don't think Bob would make a very good mate for their mother or a father to them as he dresses boring and doesn't seem to have a lot going on. When Gillian's father becomes ill, she must leave unexpectedly, flying to Denver and Bob steps up to the plate to watch the children. This gives them a perfect chance to get to know one another better. With Halloween quickly approaching, Bob must prepare the children and the home for the upcoming event. He'll have to wing it to prove his love and support for Gillian. Completely out of his league, Bob resorts to his super spy gadgets to help keep the kids in order.

Poldark (Magnús Scheving) and Creel (Katherine Boecher), Russian spies are developing a chemical to destroy the world's oil. They've just perfected their technique and found that their information has been mistakenly downloaded by young son, Ian. Now Russian spies surround the family and will stop at nothing to get back their secrect code.


Relativity Media, Robert Simonds Company, Reel FX
Director: Brian Levant
Writers: Gregory Poirier, Jonathan Bernstein, Jim Greer
Producers: Ryan Kavanaugh, Robert Simonds
I viewed 11/11

No comments: