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Taxi (2004 film)

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Taxi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTim Story
Screenplay by
Based onTaxi
by Luc Besson
Produced byLuc Besson
Starring
CinematographyVance Burberry
Edited byStuart Levy
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • October 6, 2004 (2004-10-06) (United States)
  • August 31, 2005 (2005-08-31) (France)
Running time
97 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[1]
Box office$71.3 million[1]

Taxi is a 2004 action comedy film directed by Tim Story and starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon, Gisele Bündchen in her film debut, Jennifer Esposito, and Ann-Margret. An incompetent New York City police officer is banned from driving and comes to rely on a talented taxi driver to help him solve a series of bank robberies. The film is a remake of the 1998 French film of the same name and was panned by critics.

The film is set in New York City. In the film, a demoted police detective convinces a taxicab driver to help him track down a Brazilian gang of bank robbers, and to find out how the gang transports the stolen money. The detective is soon fired for insubordination, but the duo proceed in confronting the gang.

Plot

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Bicycle courier Belle Williams earns her taxi license and installs a supercharger in her custom-built 1999 Ford Crown Victoria taxicab. Her first customer offers her a $100 tip if she can make it to the Airport in fifteen minutes. She does, with incredible speed and skill in the process, maneuvering through the streets of New York City.

Meanwhile, bumbling detective Andy Washburn crashes his partner's car while on a mission to apprehend a group of robbers, and is demoted to foot patrol duty by his boss Lt. Marta Robbins, who is also his ex-girlfriend. Hearing of a bank robbery, Washburn flags down Belle's taxicab. They arrive at the bank just as a quartet of female Brazilian robbers leave in a BMW E65. Belle recognizes them as models she saw earlier at the airport. Police arrive and mistakenly apprehend Belle and Washburn. Belle's cab is impounded, and she is questioned. Washburn promises to get her cab back if she helps him solve the bank robberies.

Washburn takes Belle to his home after her boyfriend Jesse kicks her out for missing a dinner date. Washburn's constantly drunk mother brings up embarrassing moments of Washburn's past and talks about why he is such a bad driver. Washburn convinces the impound cop to return Belle's cab. They realize the gang robs banks just before the garbage collection is due, placing the money in the trash, which the garbage man then collects. Washburn is fired for disobeying orders, and Belle is given a final warning for reckless driving. Belle teaches Washburn to drive, and they discover the garbage collector is acting for the gang because they have kidnapped his wife. They recover the garbage collector's wife and all the loot.

The police learn which bank is next to be hit and ambush the robbers, who take Lt. Robbins hostage and escape, followed by Washburn and Belle in her cab. Belle calls on the help of her bicycle courier friends to pinpoint the car. They negotiate a trade of the cash from the garbage truck for Robbins, and try to swap the hostage for the money while driving down the highway. Washburn forces the robbers down a long bridge under construction.

The robbers' leader, Vanessa, fires her gun at them and wounds Belle. While the police arrest Vanessa, Washburn drives Belle to the hospital, singing "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)". He crashes into the hospital, so Belle can be quickly recovered.

Belle achieves her dream of driving in NASCAR, sponsored by New York banks. Washburn is reinstated for foiling the robberies. Washburn's mother and Robbins attend Belle's first race to cheer her on. Jesse proposes to Belle. As Belle begins the race, Jeff Gordon pulls up as a challenger.

Cast

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Reception

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Box office

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Taxi was released on October 6, 2004, in 3,001 theaters and opened at #4 at the box office with $12 million in the opening weekend. It went on to gross $36.9 million domestically and $34.4 million from other markets for a worldwide total of $71.3 million, against a production budget of $25 million.

The film was released in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2004, and opened on #5.[2]

Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 9% based on 106 reviews, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Silly and unfunny remake of a French movie of the same name."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[4] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[5]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "How one likes Taxi has everything to do with how one responds to the hapless cop character, played by Jimmy Fallon." LaSalle was also critical of the car chases, calling them "lackluster and fairly unconvincing."[6] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "This thoroughly repetitive, ill conceived and poorly executed effort—with an emphasis on the word 'effort'—defeats these two talented people more often than not."[7]

Robert Koehler of Variety called the film "embarrassing evidence that even a ragged French original can be better than its American remake. Failing to improve on the inept but hugely successful 1998 Luc Besson vehicle."[8] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times states "Oh, this is a bad movie" and "only gets worse as it plows along."[9] Megan Lehmann of the New York Post dubbed the film "Taxi Drivel" and said: "This witless action comedy begins to insult the audience's intelligence from the opening scene."[10]

Claudia Puig of USA Today wrote: "A surprisingly funny, female-driven romp—as long as you don't question too many plot particulars."[11]

Accolades

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Year Ceremony Category Recipients Result
2005 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Villain Gisele Bündchen Nominated
Choice Movie: Female Breakout Star Gisele Bündchen Nominated
Choice Movie: Rockstar Moment Jimmy Fallon sings "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b "Taxi". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  2. ^ "UK Weekend Box Office 19th November 2004 - 21st November 2004". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Taxi (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Taxi". Metacritic.
  5. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  6. ^ LaSalle, Mick (6 October 2004). "Personalities of Latifah, Fallon drive screwball plot of 'Taxi'". SFGate.
  7. ^ Kirk Honeycutt (October 6, 2004). "Taxi". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2004-10-12.
  8. ^ Koehler, Robert (6 October 2004). "Taxi". Variety.
  9. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 6, 2004). "Taxi Movie Review & Film Summary (2004)". www.rogerebert.com.
  10. ^ Lehmann, Megan (October 6, 2004). "'TAXI' DRIVEL – THERE'S NOT A LAUGH TO BE HAD IN FALLON'S FIASCO". New York Post.
  11. ^ Claudia Puig (2004-10-05). "'Taxi' worth the fare for an enjoyable ride". USA Today.
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