Where to watch Double Take
1 Star
The governor of a Mexican state is assassinated. Soon after, junior executive Daryl Chase’s life turns upside down: after he flags a huge transfer of funds from a Mexican account as probably illegal, he’s attacked in his apartment, rescued by a CIA agent, finds his secretary shot dead, and witnesses two cops get killed. He calls the CIA guy who tells him to grab the next train to Mexico. Leaving Manhattan, Daryl can’t shake a jive-talking street punk named Freddy, and soon he’s traded clothes with Freddy to escape the police. Within days, his girlfriend, his boss, his client, Freddy, the FBI, and the dead governor’s dog are tangled in a web of deceit and danger. Who’s who?
George Gallo, writer of Wise Guys and Bad Boys, is so far off base with Double Take that it makes one wonder if those previous titles were successful solely based on star power and directorial style. That’s to say, Double Take is such a half-hearted endeavor that the film feels listless despite the obnoxious style of Eddie Griffin, who yells all his lines, and I mean 95%, but fails to be funny even once. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, whom I would bet the original idea was hatched for, wouldn’t have been able to save this material from being the tonally confused and pedestrian mess that arrived on screen.
Orlando Jones, an actor unfairly forgotten by Hollywood, is paired with co-star Griffin, an actor rightly forgotten by Hollywood, in a so-called comedy that fails to generate a single chuckle. The most memorable aspect of Double Take is the song ‘Stutter’ by Joe and Mystikal that appeared on the accompanying soundtrack. Double Take aims to be in the vein of an ‘urban’ Midnight Run, but instead it plays like a tired recycling of Trading Places. Incredibly, this film was ‘inspired’ by a Graham Greene novel; good luck to anyone who’s able to spot the similarities to that source.
Directed by: George Gallo
Written by: George Gallo
Starring: Orlando Jones, Eddie Griffin, Gary Grubbs