Taxi (2004/I)

Director:

Tim Story

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (earlier screenplay)
Robert Ben Garant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Take a Ride on the Wild Side.

Plot:

A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver has hot tips for a green and inept cop set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies committed by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.

Plot Keywords:

Brazilian | Driving | Taxicab | Undercover | Bank Robbery

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Queen Latifah	...	Isabelle 'Belle' Williams
Jimmy Fallon	...	Andrew 'Andy' Washburn
Henry Simmons	...	Jesse
Jennifer Esposito	...	Lt. Marta Robbins
Gisele Bündchen	...	Vanessa
Ana Cristina de Oliveira	...	Redhead
Ingrid Vandebosch	...	Third Robber
Magali Amadei	...	Fourth Robber
Ann-Margret	...	Washburn's Mom
Christian Kane	...	Agent Mullins
Boris McGiver	...	Franklin
Adrian Martinez	...	Brasilian Man
Joe Lisi	...	Mr. Scalia
Bryna Weiss	...	Mrs. Scalia
GQ	...	Stopwatch Messenger

Also Known As:

New York Taxi (France)
Taxi 2004 (UK) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sensuality and brief violence.

Runtime:

97 min | USA:104 min (extended version)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English | Portuguese | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:7 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12PG | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

23rd St. & Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Filming the initial car chase occurred during fall 2003 as there is a large billboard, briefly glimpsed, for the short-lived WB series "Tarzan" (2003).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Washburn reaches to grab his gun while it is on the backseat of the taxi, his butt gets in Belle's way. However, in one shot of Washburn's side during this scene, we see his butt sticking out the window, but Washburn never moved.

Quotes:

Washburn: Didn't see my nads, did ya?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "30 Rock: Stone Mountain (#4.3)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Battle of Bongo Hill

This Taxi's run outta gas

TAXI is the American remake of the quirky 1998 Luc Besson comedy. While the core of the film is still oriented around fast cars, hot chicks and zany humour, the film's light-hearted French comedic ambiance has been replaced with a dirtier, more strident, and somewhat more serious American action-comedy feel, which, although it tries hard, doesn't quite translate as it should. Queen Latifah leads as Belle Williams, a taxi driver who runs a souped-up Ford around the meaner streets of the city. Jimmy Fallon plays the unco New York cop who lands in her cab one day in pursuit of a bunch of foxy Brazilian bank robbers. Together, they muddle through car-crashes, shoot-outs and weirdly-decorated apartments to bring crooks to justice. While the plot sounds like a good premise for a decent comedy, the film is sorely lacking in script composition. The one-liners are crap, the jokes feel forced, and the script, which alternates between taking itself too seriously and sheer stupidity, does no justice whatsoever to the energetic and talented cast. A major disappointment from what looked to be a brilliant film. Someone should remake it in six more years - with a little more skill, I hope.