REEL CRITICS

“Rush Hour 2” is a mishmash. It pretends to be a feature film when

it’s just a place holder to keep some attention on the fact that they’re

planning to make a real movie. The first “Rush Hour” was reasonably

funny. At least I found myself laughing at some of the language problems

between the non-English speaking Japanese policeman and the reluctant

American policeman who must “baby-sit” him as he pursues villains on the

run from Japan. It was inoffensive, spontaneous comedy, and the action

was terrific.

“Rush Hour 2,” however, is a typical sequel failure -- the same two

lead characters playing the same two policemen, but without the language

shtick. They do do some language ploys but the result is coarse and flat.

After being told not to interfere with police business, they are

recruited by the Secret Service to pursue some funny money. They are,

subsequently, captured and shipped to America and wind up in Las Vegas.

Incidentally, it is a pleasure to see Alan King looking so good, but I’m

not sure why he was in evidence at all.

Jackie Chan as Japanese policeman Lee and Chris Tucker as American

policeman Carter attempt to follow a plot that is irrelevant. I have the

distinct impression that there was little or no dialogue written into the

script and that the action scenes were deferred to the choreographer.

There is no doubt that Jackie Chan is the most watchable action leading

man in films today and some of his facial expressions are priceless; but,

even with the impeccable choreography and Chan’s ability to perform, he

is shortly going to need some real talent that is not totally dependent

upon physical prowess.

Tucker does not have a whole lot to work with, but he handles himself

well. There is one scene at the gaming tables in Las Vegas in which he is

in his element. It’s his intention to be a diversion for his policeman

buddy and he needs to attract attention to himself, so he grabs the dice

and starts a patter with the croupier about racial injustice that has

been done so many times by so many people that you start to compare his

recitation with all the others and then just sit and wait until it is

over and they get back to the action.

I don’t think I have ever given enough credit to the sound mixer or

the staff of stuntmen for their contribution to this genre. They are

indeed the most important factor in this film. Also, there are the

outtakes. Knowing that this is a feature of Chan’s movies, I was looking

forward to them for most of the movie.

With all of the talent that went into the film and all the beautiful

people who played key roles, this should have been a delightful

experience. It was, however, a mediocre movie that had its bright spots,

but not enough of them to drag it into respectability. It is definitely a

“wait for the video.”

* JOAN ANDRE, “over 65,” is Newport Beach resident who does a lot of

volunteer work.

If you like a little humor, check out ‘Diaries’

As I walked into the theater, I was looking forward to seeing what

“The Princess Diaries” was going to be like. I had no idea whether it was

going to be boring or interesting. Personally, I really liked it. It had

a lot of good humor and showed what a geek’s life is like: totally

invisible.

In the movie, Mia Thermopolis lived this lifestyle. She is only

recognized as a freak and someone who isn’t fond of public-speaking until

something happens that changes her life forever.

Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) lives in San Francisco with her mother

(Caroline Goodall), who is an artist by profession. Her father had

recently passed away. Out of the blue, Mia’s grandmother, Clarisse

Renaldi (Julie Andrews), comes to visit Mia with some important news. She

tells her that she is the princess of Genovia, and that she herself is

the queen. She wishes for Mia to accept her royal role.

At first, Mia is shocked, and freaks out. But she eventually agrees to

take princess lessons to decide if she wants to officially be the

princess by the end. During this process, she has some difficulty, which

is the most humorous part of the movie. She then becomes accustomed to

the etiquette.

While all of this is happening, she is in love with a guy named Josh

Bryant (Erik von Detten). Later, he uses her because he wants his 15

minutes of fame. And the cheerleaders, led by Lana (Mandy Moore), help to

embarrass her even more at the Baker Beach Party, where TV reporters come

to find her. She hates this way of living and begins to doubt the fact of

her becoming the princess. She doesn’t know what she is going to do.

There are a lot of characters to describe, but there are two that are

involved with Mia. They are Lily (Heather Matarazzo) and her brother.

They try to help Mia through her situation, and always try to be there

for her.

In my point of view, “The Princess Diaries” was a pretty good movie.

In some parts, the scenes just seemed to drag on. And in other parts,

they were just hilarious. But the overall plot was great, and you

couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I would recommend this movie

to anyone who likes humor and anyone who is a fan of Julie Andrews.

* SARA SALAM attends Corona del Mar High School as an eighth-grader

and enjoys dance.