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Promotional Line: "Intelligence runs in
the family."
The story involves a married couple, espionage
agents by trade, Jeff (Dennis Quaid) and Jane Blue (Kathleen
Turner), who've taken time off to be with their new baby, now
a year old. While on holiday in New Orleans, they are persuaded
by Frank (Richard Jenkins) to return to work, with baby in tow,
to battle an old enemy, a corrupt Czech arms dealer,
Paulina Novacek (Fiona Shaw), who has gotten her hands on some
discontinued plastic explosives, which she plans to sell to
the highest bidder.
To complicate their mission, they find themselves
not only having to deal with Novacek and her thugs, but also
keeping a step ahead of the New Orleans Police officers, and
a inept thug, Muerte, as well as protect their daughter. Jeff
Blue, while walking their baby to the store for some formula,
Jeff runs into two local thugs, Muerte and an accomplice who
attempt to hold him up and cut him with a knife. Because of
his expert training, Blue, holding his sleeping toddler, easily
fought off and knocked out the would-be robbers.
While the thugs are no match for the highly
trained Jeff Blue, he is seen by a homeless woman who told the
police sent to investigate yet another attempted knifing in
the French Quarter. Lt. 'Ted' Sawyer (Obba BabatundŽ) and Det.
Sgt. Halsey (Larry Miller) are soon knocking at the Blues' hotel
room. When Jeff claims to be an Electrolux salesman, who was
not involved in an attempted mugging, Sawyer suspects Jeff Blue
of being an F.B.I. or C.I.A. Agent, and is assigned with Halsey
to find out the truth.
Meanwhile, Muerte (Stanley Tucci) is the laughing
stock of the criminal world for getting beaten up by a man with
a baby in tow. He vows to revenge his humiliation, popping out
at the Blues family at surprising moments, much to the amusement
of the audience, only to be humiliated in different , creative
ways. Jeff Blue finds a way to use Muerte's determination, unknown
to Muerte, in several instances along the way, to help the spy
couple complete their mission.
It's fun to see how the main characters blend
parenthood into their field investigation, and handle difficult
situations with "quick-witted" inventiveness, using
a combination of clever planning and They definitely had to
plan ahead, as do most parents when children are around. But,
not to do so in their case, could prove to be deadly.
With "Undercover Blues,"director
Ross has delivered a nearly perfect blend of comedy and action/drama.
It should appeal to fans of spy films AND comedies. The film
is aided by great pacing. Priscilla Nedd-Friendly was the editor.
The Cast members had a lot of fun with their
roles, and worked very well together, which points to their
talent, their professionalism, the witty script, (by Ian Abrams),
and the great direction they received from Herbert Ross
The chemistry sizzles, between Dennis Quaid
and Kathleen Turner, who were well cast, and were very believable
as a husband and wife espionage team, as well as loving parents.
They did the action sequences with much aplomb also.
The hilarious supporting cast of characters
is uniformly good all around.
Stanley Tucci ("Murder One"), had
a lot of fun with his "comically clueless" thug character,
Muerte, who finds time and time again humiliation at the hands
of not only Mr. & Mrs. Blues, but at the hands of Novacek
as well.
Fiona Shaw (My Left Foot), does a great job
playing the notorious Novacek, in a very humorous style, with
a touch of wickedness and villainy appropriate for her character.
Favorite Scenes:
1) The trip to the Zoo, where the Blues are
being followed by the police detectives, and of course, Muerte,
a parade of followers! Mrs. Blue fakes a seizure which ties
up the police detectives, so Jeff could deal with Muerte in
a hysterical way.
2) The bank scam; Jane's Probe.
3) Jane castes the bait; Muerte meets Novacek.
4) "Jane, you know what to do."
5) Jane vs. Novacek - Have a big fight in
the mud.
"Undercover Blues" has great cinematography.
It makes you want to hop a flight and visit the colorful New
Orleans locations in person
Rated PG-13 - "It is light, funny and
meant to entertain. "
If you enjoyed UNDERCOVER BLUES, you may like
"Another
Stakeout," "Romancing The Stone,"
"Rush Hour," and any of the classic "Thin
Man" movies.
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