Rush Hour – If the Moo Shu fits

Acquire your FBI headsets and have your hands empty for some supple moo shu as we head into traffic with the Rush Hour franchise.

Stats

Rush Hour
Director: Brett Ratner
Writer: Ross LaManna and Jim Kouf
Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker
Released September 1998
Budget: $33,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $244,721,064

Rush Hour 2
Director: Brett Ratner
Writer: Ross LaManna and Jeff Nathanson
Released: August 2001
Budget: 90,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $347,325,802

Rush Hour 3
Director: Brett Ratner
Writer: Ross LaManna
Released: August 2007
Budget: $140,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $258,097,122

Breakdown and Analysis

• The shining beacon of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker saved us all from our personal and global pandemic ruts.
• Everything just worked. This franchise is happiness in a bottle. Especially the first movie. Brett Rattner was a big fan of Jackie and wanted to bring him to American audiences.
• It was always going to be Jackie, it was finding the right fit. Martin Lawrence was the original choice. Eddie Murphy turned it down. Dave Chappelle, Will Smith and Tupac. As mouthy as Chris Tucker is, he seems generous. As a thespian or a lover.
• Oti takes qualm with the oversight on not having brown surround Jackie Chan in the pool. According to KT, Jackie is eretheal and believes he has clear poops.
• This film  inspired the creation of Rotten Tomatoes. The site was built for reviews on Jackie Chan’s movies. It has become a central epicentre for opinions. Movies advertised based off Rotten Tomatoes score.
• The story is enough to sink your teeth into. The action in the first movie, the action scenes were very Jackie Chan focused. Having Jackie on board brings value in a wealth of experience.
• Jackie was so endearing. If he didn’t do it they would have lost something intrinsic with the role. They was genuine rapport between Jackie and Chris. There was no pretention. Where a lot of these buddy cops failed, Rush Hour soared! This is why we want to share this moment and talk about films. They might not be perfect, but let’s discuss it.
• You could take this franchise on the surface but we really bought into the dynamic between Jackie and Chris.
• There are moments that are predictable but still wholly enjoyable.
• We address the joke of Jackie Chan using the N word for comedic effect and how we feel about it.
• Don Cheadle only agreed to do this movie if he could fight Jackie Chan and speak in Chinese.
• The franchise is elevated but Jackie’s natural ability to wow us.
• Chris Tucker’s character says all the wrong things but he is very likable. He gets a lot of graces.
• In regards to the TV show, it was such an iconic franchise that it was hard not to associate the actor’s personalities to the characters. Brett Rattner was a fan of Jackie and Chris improvising a lot of his own lines. So these actors brought a lot into these roles so it’s to not associate that watching the TV show. It is understandable why they didn’t want to mimic Chris Tucker’s portrayal but that resulted in a flat performance. Reminiscent of live action animes that are not as vibrant to ground the cartoonish elements. They lifted heavily off the franchise and executed it poorly. They paid homage to the original reference but it was really weak.
• It took 3 movies for Chris Tucker to sing Kung Fu fighting. We conspire he sang it in every movie but it was edited out.
• Rush Hour 3 was the weakest in the franchise. It was not a surprise that Chris Tucker was going to sing in the club scene but having Jackie join in was so heart warming. It is also the reason KT doesn’t punch strangers on the street.
• It is very easy to try and outdo the other in a duo dynamic.

Unrelated but vital points

• 4 quarantined chef kisses to everyone for the magic of this franchise.
• KT was not a wee baby Seamus but she did sleep through the milennium.
• Oti is the lost member of the Wu Tang Clan. Oti Dirty Bastard.
• Is Tai Chi what old ladies do at the park or is it a martial art?
• If Oti isn’t here to shame KT, what else is his purpose?
• Oti mentions they took a break from blue movies with Rush Hour.
• Oti keeps a spreadsheet of Kelly Rowland appearances in movies.
• A pint and a packet of chips, a british show created by Oti’s imagination.
• Oti teaches KT about Billy Blanks.
• Billy Blanks: the perfect escort name.

For Your Reference

Oti

[imdb style=”gray”]tt0184894[/imdb]

KT

[imdb style=”gray”]tt0080179[/imdb][imdb style=”gray”]tt0865556[/imdb]