# The Tuxedo

> 2002 film by Kevin Donovan

**Wikidata**: [Q634493](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q634493)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tuxedo)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-tuxedo

## Summary

The Tuxedo is an action film, fantasy film, and comedy film[1][2][3].

## Summary
The Tuxedo is a 2002 action-comedy film directed by Kevin Donovan, starring Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt. It follows a chauffeur who uses a high-tech tuxedo to become a secret agent and save the world from a water contamination plot.

## Key Facts
- Release date: September 19, 2002 (United States)
- Director: Kevin Donovan
- Lead actors: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Science Fiction
- Production company: DreamWorks Pictures
- Country of origin: United States
- IMDb ID: tt0290095
- Rotten Tomatoes rating: 22%
- Metacritic score: 30/100
- Box office gross: $104.4 million worldwide
- Runtime: 94 minutes
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
- Language: English
- Budget: $60 million

## FAQs
**What is the plot of The Tuxedo?**
The film follows Jimmy Tong, a taxi driver who becomes a chauffeur for a secret agent. When his employer is incapacitated, Jimmy uses a technologically advanced tuxedo that grants him special abilities to stop a villain from poisoning the world's water supply with a dehydrating agent.

**Who are the main cast members?**
Jackie Chan stars as Jimmy Tong, the protagonist who discovers the powers of the tuxedo. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Delilah "Del" Blaine, a CSA agent who initially distrusts Jimmy but later becomes his partner. Jason Isaacs portrays Clark Devlin, the secret agent whose tuxedo Jimmy inherits.

**What special abilities does the tuxedo provide?**
The tuxedo grants Jimmy superhuman abilities including enhanced strength, speed, agility, and martial arts skills. It also has various gadgets and functions like transforming into different outfits, providing night vision, and enabling him to perform complex dance moves.

**How was the film received by critics and audiences?**
The Tuxedo received mostly negative reviews from critics, with a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 30/100. However, it performed moderately well at the box office, grossing $104.4 million worldwide against a $60 million budget, suggesting it found an audience despite critical reception.

## Why It Matters
The Tuxedo represents a significant entry in Jackie Chan's Hollywood career, blending his signature martial arts comedy with American action-comedy sensibilities. The film showcases Chan's ability to adapt his physical comedy and stunt work to high-concept science fiction premises, demonstrating the international appeal of his star persona. It also exemplifies the early 2000s trend of combining traditional action stars with technological gimmicks and CGI effects, marking a transitional period in action cinema where practical stunts began to be supplemented with digital enhancements.

## Notable For
- Jackie Chan's first major Hollywood film after the Rush Hour series
- Features extensive use of wire work and CGI to enhance Chan's physical comedy
- Combines elements of James Bond spy films with Chan's martial arts comedy style
- One of the last films to heavily feature practical effects before the full transition to CGI-dominated action sequences
- Demonstrates the challenges of adapting Hong Kong action stars to Hollywood formulas

## Body
### Production and Development
The Tuxedo was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, one of the major Hollywood studios founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. The film was directed by Kevin Donovan, marking his feature film directorial debut after a career in commercials and music videos. The screenplay was written by Mike Myers (not the comedian, but a different screenwriter) and Michael McCullers, with additional writing by Darren Star.

### Cast and Characters
Jackie Chan plays Jimmy Tong, a New York City taxi driver who becomes a chauffeur for Clark Devlin, a secret agent played by Jason Isaacs. When Devlin is injured, Jimmy discovers Devlin's technologically advanced tuxedo, which grants him superhuman abilities. Jennifer Love Hewitt portrays Delilah "Del" Blaine, a CSA (Combined Systems Agency) agent who initially suspects Jimmy of being an impostor but eventually becomes his partner in stopping the villain's plot.

### Plot Summary
The story begins with Jimmy Tong as a skilled but reckless taxi driver who is recruited by Clark Devlin to be his chauffeur. Devlin is a sophisticated secret agent who possesses a special tuxedo that grants the wearer extraordinary abilities. When Devlin is incapacitated by an attack, Jimmy puts on the tuxedo and discovers its powers. He must then pose as Devlin to continue the mission of stopping Dietrich Banning, played by Ritchie Coster, who plans to contaminate the world's water supply with a dehydrating agent that causes people to die of thirst.

### Technical Aspects
The film runs for 94 minutes and was shot in anamorphic format with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The cinematography was handled by Karl Walter Lindenlaub, known for his work on Independence Day and Stargate. The visual effects were supervised by Hoyt Yeatman, who had previously worked on The Rock and Crimson Tide. The film's score was composed by John Debney, featuring a mix of orchestral and electronic elements to complement the action and comedy.

### Reception and Performance
Upon release, The Tuxedo received mixed to negative reviews from critics. The film holds a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 143 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The critical consensus states: "Though there are laughs to be had, The Tuxedo is generally considered a disappointment, with critics citing a lack of originality and over-reliance on special effects." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 30 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."

Despite the critical reception, the film performed moderately well at the box office. It grossed $50.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $54.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.4 million against a production budget of $60 million. This made it a modest financial success, though not the blockbuster that DreamWorks had hoped for.

### Cultural Impact and Legacy
The Tuxedo represents an interesting chapter in Jackie Chan's career transition from Hong Kong cinema to Hollywood. While it didn't achieve the same level of success as his Rush Hour films, it demonstrated Chan's willingness to experiment with different genres and concepts. The film's premise of a magical tuxedo granting superpowers was somewhat ahead of its time, predating similar concepts in later films and television shows.

The movie also showcases the challenges of adapting Hong Kong action stars to Hollywood formulas. While Chan's physical comedy and stunt work remain impressive, the heavy reliance on wire work and CGI effects was seen by some as detracting from his traditional style of performing his own stunts. This tension between practical effects and digital enhancements would become increasingly relevant in action cinema throughout the 2000s.

### Distribution and Home Media
The Tuxedo was distributed theatrically by DreamWorks Pictures in the United States and by UIP (United International Pictures) in international markets. The film was released on DVD and VHS on March 25, 2003, featuring behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and commentary tracks. It has since been released on Blu-ray and is available on various digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play.

### Related Works and Connections
The film shares thematic and stylistic connections with other action-comedy films of the early 2000s, particularly those featuring technological gimmicks or superpowers. It can be compared to films like I Spy (2002), starring Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson, which also featured a spy comedy premise with a focus on gadgets and technology. The Tuxedo also connects to the broader trend of Hollywood films attempting to create franchises around international action stars, similar to attempts with Jet Li in films like Romeo Must Die (2000).

### Technical Specifications
- **Camera System**: Panavision cameras with anamorphic lenses
- **Film Stock**: Kodak Vision 200T 5274 and Vision 500T 5279
- **Editing**: Avid Film Composer system
- **Sound Mix**: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
- **Aspect Ratio**: 2.35:1
- **Color Process**: Technicolor
- **Production Design**: Gary Frutkoff
- **Costume Design**: Coleen Atwood

### Behind the Scenes
The production of The Tuxedo involved significant collaboration between American and international crews. While the film was primarily shot in Toronto, Canada (standing in for New York City), it also featured location shooting in New York itself. The film's action sequences were choreographed by Jackie Chan and his team of stunt coordinators, though many of the more elaborate stunts were enhanced with wire work and CGI due to safety concerns and the fantastical nature of the tuxedo's abilities.

The film's visual effects were created by several companies, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which worked on the more complex CGI sequences. The combination of practical effects, wire work, and digital enhancements represents the transitional state of action filmmaking in the early 2000s, as filmmakers began to rely more heavily on digital tools while still maintaining elements of traditional stunt work.

## References

1. [Source](http://stopklatka.pl/film/smoking-2002)
2. [Source](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290095/)
3. [Source](http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film193207.html)
4. [Source](http://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-36318/)
5. [Source](http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-tuxedo)
6. [Source](http://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film193207.html)
7. [Source](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290095/fullcredits)
8. The Movie Database
9. The Tuxedo. Rotten Tomatoes
10. Filmweb
11. [IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290095/releaseinfo)
12. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
13. Kinopoisk
14. [Source](https://www.kijkwijzer.nl/films/tuxedo-the/)
15. List of film licenses issued from 1945 to 2020
16. [Source](https://www.cnc.fr/professionnels/visas-et-classification/106574)
17. Cineplex
18. Online-Filmdatenbank
19. Bechdel Test Movie List
20. mymovies.it
21. [Source](https://ui.eidr.org/view/content?id=10.5240/A106-3FCD-D1DB-978E-5541-2)
22. Danish Film Database
23. TheTVDB
24. Trakt.tv
25. FilmVandaag.nl