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Code Name: The Cleaner Review

Release Date: Jan 05, 2007
Rated: sexual content, crude humor and some violence
Runtime: 1 hr. 24 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy
Director:Les Mayfield
Cast:Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan, Mark Dacascos, Callum Keith Rennie. Full cast + crew

Movies.com Critics

2.5

Dave White Profile <h3>Dave White</h3> <p><strong>Your Movies.com Man at the Multiplex</strong></p> <br /> <p>Dave White's first movie review was of the animated feature Snoopy Come Home. He was seven years old...<a href="http://www.movies.com/movie-reviews/dave-white">Read full profile</a></p>

… stupid and useless. Read full review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

2.0

33

out of 100

Metascore^®
Generally unfavorable reviews
based on a weighted average of all
critic review scores.
25

out of 100

Entertainment Weekly
Get Lucy Liu better roles!

Read Full Review
40

out of 100

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
This implausible plot full of holes does pave the way for a series of Cedric the Entertainer skits and physical gags. None of these is very funny. A few are painfully unfunny. In either case, the movie comes to a standstill. It's a pity no one thought to screen old Bob Hope movies to see how to integrate comedy into genre filmmaking.

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50

out of 100

ReelViews James Berardinelli
The problem is, while the thriller aspects of the movie are serviceable, they aren't good enough to form the basis of anything more serious than a sit-com, and by spending as much time on them as Code Name: The Cleaner does, it makes the film at times seem drawn-out and tedious.

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See all Code Name: The Cleaner reviews at Metacritic.com

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For Families provided by Common Sense Media

Iffy for 13+

Amnesia action-comedy might hurt your brain, too.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this dreadful spy comedy pushes the PG-13 edge with regard to sexual imagery and humor. Main character Jake makes lots of crude jokes about his "prowess," and women constantly appear in various states of undress and/or otherwise show off their assets (Nicollette Sheridan essentially reprises her vavoomy Desperate Housewives role, but it's not funny here). The movie's action-comedy-style violence is broad and brutal (though mostly bloodless), including shooting, car crashes, grenades exploding, and martial arts fighting. Language is obnoxious, with slang and obscenities used througout, including repeated uses of "s--t," "damn," and "hell."

Families can talk about the movie's use of class and race stereotypes -- particularly the way it contrasts Jake's working-class background with the rich characters' stuffiness.
Does embracing stereotypes for comic effect make them easier toswallow?
Why are jokes based on stereotypes more or less funnydepending on who delivers them?
Families can also discuss the film'streatment of its female characters. How do the two main women embodythe opposite versions of Jake's fantasy self?

The good stuff

Messages: Terrible behavior all around: lying, cheating, killing, and lots of lust. Women are largely objectified, and stereotypes are constantly played for humor.
Role models: Nothing here that you'd want your child emulating.

What to watch for

Violence: Jake first appears in a bed with a corpse (blood on pillow and body, blood on Jake's head); repeated "flashbacks" to action scenes show Jake in special forces unit (they carry and shoot guns, break windows, explode grenades, and engage in martial arts combat); Jake falls out a window onto a car; Gina frenzy-slaps Jake several times (treated as comedy); men shoot through the roof of Gina's car and she shoots back (both men presumably left dead); martial arts fights (kicks, hits, loud sound effects).
Sex: Sexual/comedy situations push edge of the PG-13 rating: Jake fondles the body in bed with him as he wakes, not seeing at first that it's a dead man; Jake's action-scene fantasy includes him slapping an old woman's butt by accident (she smiles and adjusts her skirt afterward); sexual dance by Diane in skimpy pink underwear (Jake refers to "little Jake" and calls Diane a "freak"); Jake is mistaken for online sexual partner by creepy guy (who notes the online user names "hotbuns69" and "sweaty and ready"); hiding in the car, Jake puts his face in Gina's lap and suggests he feels "someplace familiar" janitor raps about using a "plunger" creepy joke about Jake being "good at" sex; outtakes accompanying closing credits include more sex jokes, both verbal ("How long I been hittin' it?", "You making willy chilly") and visual (an especially egregious gag involves a man bending over and asking that a man with a gun "Put in my ass!").
Language: Frequent uses (over 10 each) of "damn," "s--t" (some accompanied by "bull"), and "hell,"(repeatedly, "Hell, no!"); also "dumbass," "bitch," "shut up, you idiot," and references to "Dutch chocolate" and "Mandingo" (referring to Jake).
Consumerism: Repeated images of Lacoste shirt, Jaguar and Saab cars, Skittles, Jet magazine, Sweet 'n' Low, Best Buy; verbal references to Tater Tots, Spider-man, Lionel Richie, Ricola, Papa John's, Quiznos, Crazy Chicken.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Use of "truth-telling" injection makes Jake look drunk and prompts a joke about the drug causing cardiac arrest ("his heart will explode"); hateful joke about an Asian hotel attendant's pronunciation ("refill the minibar" becomes "reefer in the minibar"); reference to mai tais.

Common Sense Media

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