Jake wakes up to find myself next to a dead FBI agent and a briefcase with $250,000; all in all, not a bad day, not a great day, really, right? He rushes outside to find his wife Diane (Nicollette Sheridan, who seems to be aging gracefully once we get to a lingerie scene). Jake is convinced he's a super-secret commando government agent sort of guy.
The scenes of Jake leaping out of helicopters with commandos in black with him help support the fantasy, though I found it hard to believe a guy who couldn't cross the room without falling would be so skilled. Suspicions confirmed, he's a janitor (who happens to play a lot of video games his boss gives him while they're in development at the game company he works for).
Jake is disappointed, but he's showing in a theatre filled with disappointment -- we all seemed to hope "Code Name: The Cleaner" was going to carry a bit more of a story than a litany of one-liners, sight-gags and physical comedy. Jake's girlfriend Gina, whom he often is putting down for just being a waitress, is the real FBI agent, undercover to see what deceit is going on at the game company and the dirty FBI agents involved with the company's boss.
Gina (Lucy Liu) provides a performance nothing short of heroic to keep the film moving. Jake (Cedric the Entertainer) seemed to content to delivering a show that isn't going to rank amongst his best; could have been the script, sure, but I suspect a performer with his talent could have given it a boost had he been so inspired. Rather, the film relies on the star-draw of the cast to bring folks into the theatre, rather than luring them in with a film that people will be talking about (positively) for weeks.
There were a few chuckles in the film, sure, and I don't want to completely omit that detail, though it's largely lost in the 90 minutes or so you're stuck in the seats.
For me, the best line was during the credits, an out-take where a security guard comments to Lucy Liu, "Hey, aren't you that chick from Charlie's Angels?" In a way, I even wished she was Alex once more, as she, Dylan and Natalie delivered a much better theatrical showing in 'Angels' than I sat through for 'Code Name.'
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