Code Name: The Cleaner: Grade C

C

Code Name: The Cleaner (2007)

Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu. Dir=Les Mayfield

This one must have caught me in a silly mood, because I enjoyed it, even though it is ridiculous. Cedric is a building janitor but he wakes up next to a dead body and a briefcase full of money, and with amnesia. He decides he must be a secret agent. Predictably, bad guys pursue him, but it’s not the money they want, no, it's a computer chip holding a video game, which actually disguises plans for a WMD. I said it was silly. He befriends waitress Liu, who is not who she appears to be (A waitress with a Saab should have been a tip off). A great moment was Liu affecting a disbelieving black woman’s attitude as Cedric tries to explain his involvement with another woman. An irrelevant, crazy song and dance routine was also good fun. Most of the humor stays close to bump-the-head slapstick and obvious gags, but there is some subtlety. Filmed partly in Seattle made it fun for me, also. Liu’s infectious giggle in the DVD extras is charming. I don’t think we have seen all she has to offer.