Code Name: The Cleaner Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
In a dirty world, he's our only hope.
Cedric the Entertainer plays Jake, a seemingly regular guy who has no idea who he is after being hit over the head by mysterious assailants; when he finds himself entangled in a government conspiracy, Jake and his pursuers become convinced that he is an undercover agent.
| Cedric the Entertainer | Jake Rodgers |
| Lucy Liu | Gina |
| Nicollette Sheridan | Diane |
| Mark Dacascos | Eric Hauck |
| Callum Keith Rennie | Shaw |
| Niecy Nash | Jacuzzi |
| DeRay Davis | Ronnie |
| Will Patton | Riley |
| Kevin McNulty | Doctor Soames |
| BJ Davis | Old Timer |
| Bart Anderson | Charlie |
| Tom Butler | Crane |
| Robert Clarke | The Butler |
| Rick Tae | Mini Bar Attendant |
| Kurt Max Runte | Dead FBI Agent |
| Les Mayfield |
3.70 out of 10 (1195 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Cedric need to pick better movies
posted on 25 Jul 2009Cedric The Entertainer needs to find better people to work with. He plays a man who wakes up with no memory and in a room with cash and a dead body. He quickly ends up on the run from people who think he knows something as well as the police.Poor direction does in what could have been a good script (you can feel the lack of feeling in how sequences are constructed). More than likely another movie made by committee, where every bit seems to have been put in place by a different person.Worth a look only for those having a slow night with their cable choices.4 out of 10.
This movie "Codename: Cleaner" is weak.
posted on 19 Jul 2009I caught myself falling to sleep during "code name: Cleaner." The previews of other movies were better than this movie. Lucy Liu is the only redemption but she cannot carry this weak movie. The story seems to have been written by 5th graders making it up as they went. Cedric the Entertainer tries but he was given a weak script. Lucy Liu is a cutesy thing. She is a pleasure to watch, but the writers did not write enough good stuff for her. Nicolette Sheridan's role is so bad that her bloopers at the end of the movie are her best lines. Speaking of bloopers, it was not only Nicolette but all the major players who shined in the bloopers. The bloopers outshone the movie. The bloopers proved that the actors could improvise better material than the writers could write. Those fews morsels that you saw on the previews? Well, those were the highlights of the movie and there was not much more. This movie could have been made into a nice 10 minute short story. The emotional payoffs were weak. The plot is contrived. A contrived plot can be forgiven if it is the springboard to a good movie. This contrived plot did not deliver. I could think of so many funnier, more entertaining things to do with Lucy Liu and Cedric. Lucy and Cedric tried their best. Lucy Liu's role is similar to the role that she played in Lucky Slevin. She played the cute, sexy, nicely dressed very lovable soft core porn object - except in "Cleaner" they took away any overt sexuality and they dressed her more like a nun than the sexy woman that we love.There was potential in this movie. Cedric and Lucy have proved track records. I went to the movie craving more of what I have seen in prior movies with these established stars, but the directors/ writers did not know what to do with these stars. It reminds me of a person who does not know how do drive a stick shift. They did not know what they were doing. It was pathetic.Winter 2006/ 2007 has been a sad season for movies. I came home disappointed from this movie. I got more entertainment from YouTube and reruns on the internet.
nonsensical relief from the heavy, fading awards season
posted on 03 Mar 2009Codename: The Cleaner reviewed by Sam OsbornWelcome to January, generally known as the first of two months that consist mostly of studio duds poured discretely from the back of the release slate and into your multiplexes. Like a late August release, January and February releases generally spell 'trash,' with the best of them offering only a nonsensical relief from the heavy, fading awards season. Thus, we have Codename: The Cleaner. It's the latest work from director Les Mayfield, a man whose earlier films (Flubber, American Outlaws, The Man) are best described as righteously mediocre. This January gem weighs in on a case of missing identity and FBI espionage with Cedric the Entertainer playing Jake Rodgers, waking up in a hotel bed with a dead FBI agent and a cut above his ear. His memory's been fried, leaving him without a name and only fragments of what looks to be a secrets ops combat mission batting around his brain. Diane—played by Nicollete Sheridan, whose beauty has been stretched and manipulated to the point of mimicking a mask from White Chicks—approaches Jake in the hotel lobby, filling him in on some important details pertaining to their supposed marriage and occupation of a bloated estate mansion. It all turns out to be farce, however, when Jake overhears Diane plotting to send Jake into cardiac arrest over a bit of information surrounding a computer chip. Soon Jake's on the run, doing his best play-pretend imitation of spy work, trying to hunt down the computer chip and unveil his own identity. Like last year's You, Me, and Dupree, Codename: The Cleaner banks heavily on the likability of its lead, giving him the screen-time equivalent of carte blanche. But where Owen Wilson's sly, sandy-haired innocence can grow tiresome, Cedric's rotund antics are nothing if not charming. He leaps to great and often desperate lengths to mine a chuckle, but sometimes surprises us by shoveling out something truly hilarious. So it's a shame that the material surrounding him offers little more than static. Lucy Liu is superbly misused as Jake's girlfriend, rattling off forced punch-lines and rickety, unfitting "sistah" feistiness to match Ms. Sheridan's miscasting as the young, busty blonde (the joke here, I suppose, is that Ms Sheridan's peaked forty). The plot feels improvised; so weak that is seems to modify itself according to whatever improvisation Cedric throws at the script. It all comes together like a Jackie Chan Hong Kong action picture, only with Cedric the Entertainer doing the karate. It works, but only if you slouch in your seat and let your ears and eyes glaze over in a popcorn haze. It is January, after all. Sam Osborn
Solid, undemanding entertainment with a good cast
posted on 03 Feb 2009I found "Code Name: The Cleaner" to be a harmless, entertaining little spy comedy-mystery, and was somewhat surprised to find so many negative reviews about it. The plot is intriguing enough to keep your attention and adds up quite well, Cedric The Entertainer is more often funny than not, Lucy Liu and Nicollette Sheridan are both very sexy (no James Bond film since "Goldeneye" has had such a dynamite female combo), and the action / martial arts parts are surprisingly solidly handled: Mark Dacascos and Lucy Liu are in top form, and even Cedric and Sheridan get to perform some moves! Strange as it may seem, Liu does better action work here than in both "Charlie's Angels" films! On the whole, this is not the kind of movie that will change your life, but it's perfectly watchable just the same. (**1/2)
same storyline, but keeps getting interesting,....
posted on 30 Oct 2008For a James Bond prototype, this isn't that bad. One of the few that deserve more attention then they really get. The only other 'Bond' prototype that is as funny as this one would be Johnny English. Yes, we all have seen the plot, but it's the twist to the storyline that keeps it interesting. This time our hero wakes up in a hotel room, on the bed next to the dead man's body. It starts out more of a mystery, then quickens the pace just before the half way mark comes. Cedric is clearly at the top of his game both pyhsically and in his jokes. For sure he does a better job at keeping his material censored, heck, depending on the child, this could even be a kids movie.
Underrated Action-Comedy , with a highly energetic Cedric in the lead.
posted on 04 Oct 2008I've seen 4 movies that LES MAYFIELD has directed, 2 pretty darn good ones "BLUE STREAK" and "ENCINO MAN" and 2 not good ones "THE MAN" and the horrible "FLUBBER.So it was a 50/50 chance that this movie was gonna be good or bad, since "THE MAN" was his last one it didn't really give me high hopes.But I realize very quickly once I popped the DVD into my dvdplayer, that it seemed like LES MAYFIELD had learned his lessons well and really added a lot of great flavor to this movie.It kind of plays off as a MARTIN LAWRENCE-movie so If you like those kinds then this is the movie for you! Cedric The Entertainer have never been a big favorite, I never disliked him, he just was stuck in roles playing laid-back characters who always seemed much older than he was (I don't know Cedric's actual age).Here however he plays a guy with crazy energy! Cedric is all over the place, with a sharp tongue and great since of feeling in the comedic essence of almost every scene! This i actually the funniest character I ever seen him do! The funniest guy in the whole movie though is DERAY DAVIS as a wanna-be rapper, his scenes are some of the funniest scenes I've seen in a long time.But really most of the cast deliver, even LUCY LIU whom I never liked is all good in this one.I guess it's really more of a Comedy than it is Action, However there is plenty of action and it works for the most part very well together.Those people who are looking for a smart movie with a deep message shouldn't watch this, But fans of MARTIN LAWRENCE-type of comedy's: Look no further, This movie is packed with a lot of fun.I'm not saying it's the best movie ever: HOWEVER it is not half as bad as the critics reviews suggest, in fact it's a fun ride and never boring.
waste of space
posted on 26 Sep 2008sat down to watch with my daughter aged 9 complete waste of 90 minutes so slow untrue only 1 highlight the totally irrelevant dance scene Cedric disguised as a member of a dutch clog dancing troupe. also confusing flashbacks to what i presume was some American special forces operation. strongly recommend not to buy this DVD rent for as little as possible. one of the worst films i have seen/ highlight for dads that girl off desperate housewives in sexy lingerie trying to retrieve info off Cedric the entertainer. but sorry Cedric you did not entertain us. look out for the will Ferrell lookalike with false stuck on moustache as a CIA agent
only good for a few cheap laughs
posted on 20 Sep 2008I was expecting this movie to be horrible, but it wasn't quite that bad. It actually had a few funny and amusing moments. When Jake runs into Diane, played by the hot Nicole Sheridan, and she says she is his wife, his reaction is pretty funny. " I have a hot white wife." And then takes him to his supposed home, and its a huge mansion. He keeps having flashbacks of combat/fighting and has convinced himself he's a secret agent. But we learn he is just an avid video game player. That part was amusing.The plot is silly but it definitely is not one of the worst movies of the year. 14 year olds will probable like it.FINAL VERDICT: This is nothing to go out of your way to see. But if you catch it on TV and want 90 minutes of mindless entertainment you may want to check it out.
It had it's moments
posted on 01 Aug 2008While this by far the best comedy I've seen, it had it's moments.But that's not to say that it was bad.The worst part was in the mansion...the butler role was absolutely dreadful and unneeded.In fact the entire scene with the butler should have been cut and something else added in.Clearly the lead role was not written for Cedric...he seemed lost in it in many areas and just didn't fit quite right.Ronnie, however was a riot as the rapping custodian. His bathroom scene was just hilarious and possibly the best in the entire movie.**A little known fact is that Jake's house - the blue one was filed in a well known drug house in Vancouver, BC and had to be searched by police with dogs before filming began in the house.
am i Lionel Richie?...
posted on 06 Jul 2008Cedric the 'Entertainer' plays Jake, a seemingly regular guy who has no idea who he is after being hit over the head by mysterious assailants when he finds himself entangled in a government conspiracy, Jake and his pursuers become convinced that he is an undercover agent.another disaster for the most ironically named person in Hollywood, this movie is one clichéd messy scene after another, totally un-pc in some scenes, and features lots of silly scenes that you can see coming a mile off.the writing is at best average, and most of the jokes fall flat, but it's mercifully short, and it's quite amusing in places.twenty years ago, Eddie Murphy would have made it, and it would have been a damn sight better, but it's not 1988, and it's not coming to America.at least Lucy Liu escapes with some dignity.not a total abomination, just dull.
Probably worst movie ever seen...
posted on 22 Jun 2008Minimum of 10 lines?!?! Why the **** would i waste 10 lines on this awful movie??????????I saw it with a good friend while we were waiting for her sister's lame party to end... We watched it cause it was pretty much the only movie we haven't watched that sounded like it wouldn't be a total waste of time and money...IT WAS A MISTAKE WATCHING THAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!Waste of time and money. It made no sense at all and it was just plain boring...I repeat, WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY...My friend and i laugh very easily (i laughed at a drama movie once, an action film and more...)and we barely laughed once...!!!!!!!!DON'T WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!!!11 FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!!!!!!! I'M WARNING YOU....
A movie that could of been good if done correctly
posted on 17 May 2008What happens when you put the director from a somewhat flop like "Blue streak" a producer that ACTUALLY directed the questioned, "X-men: the last stand" and a bunch of writers that probably didn't think it thru before putting it on script? You got yourself an academy award winner...LOL kidding. What you really do have is a flop of a movie by certain standards if done correctly could have been a very cool action/adventure/comedy with very good actors and can I remind you Nicolette Sheridan and Lucy liu equals hotness!Code name: The cleaner stars the very talented and very cool comedian Cedric the entertainer as a janitor wannabe secret agent Jake and co-staring "Desperate housewives" star Nicolette Sheridan (who looks hot in a matching set just for the record) and the every vibrant and attractive Charlie's angel Lucy Liu; the premise for the movie is OK but could of been better than just okay. Sometimes you feel that Cedric over did the part in some scenes but that doesn't mean he wasn't funny cause there were some funny and very sexy moments between his character and Nicolette's character and also some good and interesting moments between Cedric and Liu's (Gina) character as well but it wasn't as fleshed out as you would expected and like I said it was only done in some scenes. You can also noticed that the director and the camera man wanted this movie a bit rushed in some parts; the action scenes could of been a bit longer and the character development satire could of been a lot broader between the characters but just wasn't and you wanted to see more to it but just didn't get the goods when expected (Trust me...there were certain scenes where you REALLY wanted to see more from...LOL).But I really liked the connection between Cedric and Liu's characters they were both interesting and worked good together surprising to say their one liner were at times over the top but at other times right on the mark and it was funny and even a chuckle along the way. But when getting down the nitty gritty you had characters like Jake's Janitor friends they were funny to a certain degree but all of that is pretty much what you've already seen in other comedies over the years. but all in all you can tell at the end where the outtakes come up they had a good time making the movie and that's all that matters...the characters were comfortable together which could of made the movie REALLY good but due to lack of bad script writing and directing the movie took another direction into something that was shallow and sometimes not funny the writers had the characters try too hard in their actions and it can be a bit tiresome and repetitive if often seen. But if it was in a different approach this movie would have been a cool action adventure with a great, awesome cast with very cool action scenes and in a way they did deliver that but it was too fast and you wanted more from it. Director Les Mayfield is not really a good director for a movie like this but the comrade between the characters were very good and it worked but it was under a bad plot and writing and directing...too bad this would of been a good movie.4/10
Complete waste of time... and money
posted on 07 Apr 2008I had seen the trailer for "Code Name: The Cleaner". It looked like a spy spoof. However, more importantly it starred very hot movie starlets Lucy Liu and Nichollette Sheridan ("Desperate Housewives"). Gathering from the trailers Cedric the Entertainer's character is suffering from some sort of amnesia. He finds out he has a white wife played by Nichollette Sheridan and a mansion. Cedric the Entertainer says, "I must be Lionel Richie." I thought that was hilarious. However, I am old. Audiences today are more familiar with the arrests and eating habits of his daughter Nicole Richie. Thus, this is the inherent miscalculation of "Code Name: The Cleaner". The movie was probably funny to those making the movie, without a tangible audience in mind. Too bad. I really like Cedric the Entertainer—he is funny. But he is so off the mark here. Sexy Nichollette Sheridan is whacked out as the femme fa-tale Diane posing as Jake's (Cedric the Entertainer) wife. The only thing that could have saved the movie is if her lingerie mysteriously slipped off her stunning body. Really, too bad. Lucy Liu looks fabulous and looks killer in the marital arts action sequences. Her fight scene with Sheridan could have been a lot longer. Also, too bad.There is little redeeming in "Code Name: The Cleaner" other than its stars. For that blame the lameness of Director Les Mayfield and the horrendous writing of Robert Adetuyi and George Gallo. The tell tale symptom of this miserable collapse is that the most entertaining part of the movie are the outtakes at the end. Seems at least the cast and crew were having fun. One can only hope that there is more of Cedric, Sheridan, and Liu in the DVD release. Don't hold your breath.
Code Name: The Cleaner
posted on 05 Feb 2008Friday night my wife and I went to see Code Name: The Cleaner, staring Cedric Kyles (AKA Cedric the Entertainer) and Lucy Liu. It's about Jake, a man who wakes up in a hotel room, next to a dead body, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As events unfold around him, he starts to recollect that he is a secret agent, and puts together that he was working undercover as a janitor on a deadly mission.This was another fun movie. It had a PG-13 rating but I would say that it was a fairly mild PG-13 (a few shootouts and Nicollette Sheridan in her undies), so I wouldn't worry too much about taking a 13 year old to see it. It's the first movie I've seen with Cedric in the lead role and only the second with him in it at all (Serving Sara was the first). I really liked him. He was absolutely hilarious without going over the top. Of course Lucy Liu is always a sight to behold.The rating it has received on IMDb was a dismal 3.0 but that was because a significant number (52%) of the votes were a 1. I suspect that the movie or one of it's actors really perturbed some group, so they retaliated with a vote drive. There is no way this movie rated a 1. I personally gave it a 7 and my wife tells me we will own this.Incidentally, stick around for the first half of the credits. The show some very good outtakes.
The user rating is 2.6. Thank God!
posted on 05 Feb 2008Cedric the Entertainer is certainly a talented comedian, but with a script this boring and stupid, even he couldn't breathe life into this horrible mess of a comedy. Despite the bad reviews, I was still slightly eager to check out the movie. The year has just started and already I have a candidate for the worst movies of 2007. The spy comedy has been done to death. And the fact that the writers had nothing new to bring to the table didn't help. I must've chuckled a total of 5 times, and received no laughs whatsoever. As the movie (thankfully) approached its conclusion, I jokingly thought to myself, "This is probably one of those flicks that contains a gag reel over the closing credits." Well...I was right! I frequently disapprove of gag reels over the credits of good movies. When you show a gag reel after a bad movie, it's like rubbing salt on a wound. The only part of this movie worth checking out is Nicolette Sheridan doing an erotic dance in her lingerie. If the movie ever makes it to HBO On Demand, I suggest you just fast-forward to that particular scene, mute the sound, and watch it in a loop. Yes, it's that friggin' hot! As for the comedy, expect your usual assortment of bland, crude, sitcom-style gags. If you can't see the punchlines to each gag coming a mile away, you might want to consider getting a cat scan. In one scene, a janitor (one of Cedric's co-workers) is interrogated by a federal agent in a restroom. The agent points a gun at him, urging him to give him some information about Cedric's character. The janitor is an aspiring rapper, and goes on a whole rant about how he wants to be shot, since he wants to be the first rapper to write his songs while in a coma. He bends over, begging the agent to shoot him in the backside. The agent eventually leaves the restroom, as the janitor keeps screaming out, "Put a bullet in my a**! Put it in my a**! Put it in my as**!" And--guess what--one of his fellow janitors strolls into the restroom as he continues to scream out, "Put it in my a**!" Unless you're a teenager who will laugh at all things scatological, you might want to consider putting a bullet in your own rear end for finding an outrageously stupid gag like that funny. My God! How screenwriters actually get paid to write this crap still boggles my mind! A man of Cedric's talent is capable of doing much, much more, as he's shown in the "Barbershop" movies. But when given rotten material like this, he attempts to mend each failed joke with improvisation, which in turn makes the jokes even more annoying.
How did this get greenlighted?
posted on 16 Jan 2008Ever since Cedric the Entertainer burst onto the scene with his critically acclaimed, scene-stealing performance in the original "Barbershop," no filmmaker has quite figured out how best to harness the considerable talents of this longtime standup comic. In the years since that film was released, C the E has appeared in one monumental turkey after another, with his latest endeavor, "Code Name: The Cleaner," marking what we can only hope will be a professional low point before he begins his gradual ascent back towards some degree of cinematic respectability.In what is clearly one of the lamest, dopiest and most ill-conceived spy comedies in movie history, Cedric plays an amnesia victim who wakes up in a hotel room next to a dead FBI agent and a suitcase stuffed with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unsure of who he is - the possibilities range all the way from an undercover spy to a local janitor - or how he managed to get himself into such a predicament, the mystery man, Jake, is soon on the run from unknown forces out to nab him and the valuable computer chip it is believed he has in his possession.This is such a perfectly ridiculous piece of celluloid-wasting cinema that it is scarcely worth the time it takes to watch, let alone comment on, the movie. Suffice it to say that Cedric needs to start looking into getting himself a better agent, while his co-stars - like Lucy Liu, whose career is clearly in as much trouble as Cedric's - should begin deleting this film from their professional resumes as quickly as is humanly possible.
Did they run out of money?
posted on 12 Jan 2008Watching this movie, I kept thinking they couldn't afford to have a real script written, and must have run out of money when they were about 2/3 of the way through, and couldn't finish editing it. Not to mention, they probably couldn't afford Martin Lawrence for the lead role, so they filled it with Cedric the Entertainer, who does better in supporting roles. Cedric does have several funny scenes, though.The plot is completely unintelligible, and undeveloped, but based on the genre you can predict most of the action. It's the ever-popular "hero has something secret the bad guys want, so they can sell it to terrorists for a fortune, but it's missing." Not to mention, the scenes or "shticks" that have been better done elsewhere. For example, every time Cedric tried to be funny with judo moves, I kept thinking that he ripped that off from Martin, who does it much better. There is a brief cat-fight scene that is far inferior to the one in Undercover Brother (which is an excellent movie, and much funnier overall).
Totally not Funny
posted on 07 Aug 2007This film is not very good. Cederic the Entertainer can be quite funny as a stand up comic, and he was hilarious in both "Barbershop" films, but here he is not funny, nor is the rest of the cast. This is a poor attempt to make a spy comedy, and spy comedies are usually not that good to begin with.The only spy comedies that I have found to be hilarious were the 1983 film "Bullshot" and Leslie Nielson in 1996's "Spy Hard" The old amnesia attempt is used here to string together 90 mins of absolutely no laughs.2 out of 10
Waste of time
posted on 04 Jun 2007I was working all day and I thought that nothing would be better, than a nice comedy to cheer me up. But unfortunately I was wrong. The movie started fine, not awful, not great. After about 20-25min of the movie I realized that the movie wont be on my top list. More precisely it was going to be one of the worst movies. First of all movies about spies, especially comedy related ones, are all washed up. Secondly in this certain movie you can see ahead, everything is so obvious that even an eleven year old kid would be bored. The dialogs are very poor, all the "funny" things were already used in other movies. I was really very surprised about the quality of it, as there are at least three good actors in it. Personally I think that Cedric the Entertainer and Lucy Liu are better actors than it is seen in this movie. I advise you, if you don't have anything else to watch, pick up a book or listen to music. The time will be better spent.
- 1
- 2
I loved that the movie was Humorous and Adventurous!
posted on 28 Aug 2009I saw the movie last night. I am a fan of Cedric The Entertainer. He is so funny! Nicolette and Lucy Liu added to this cast made it a dynamic movie.I liked how the story line kept you guessing on "Jake" the role that Cedric played and what was his true identity and job.And to see him play not only a comedic role as he usually does, but a role filled with action.........Loved it! I would recommend this movie for all to see. I liked how it was not filled with lots of cursing, explicit sex scenes and lots of blood and guts. Yes there was some fighting etc, but I found it more in a humorous way it was done.Ciao, Leslie