Code Name: The Cleaner

Some people are born to be second bananas that bomb when they take center stage. Cedric the Entertainer was the best thing about the Barbershop movies, but his starring vehicles (Johnson Family Vacation, The Honeymooners) have been terrible. Filmmaker Les Mayfield's Code Name: The Cleaner is one of those “wrong man” action farces about an ordinary guy caught up in a diabolical scheme, with Cedric starring as Jake Rodgers, who wakes up in a hotel room beside a dead FBI agent and a pile of cash, suffering from a case of conveniently selective amnesia. Deducing that he is an undercover agent, Jake tries to figure out what “case” he must have been working on, pursued all the while by both bad guys and government types. Of course the plot is no more than an excuse for an anarchic series of convolutions—chases, fights, flashbacks—the sole purpose of which is to allow the star opportunities to do his shtick, often (as the inevitable outtakes show) in improvisational fashion. Granted, Cedric has some mildly funny bits here, but this is a stretched-out comedy, albeit one that eventually morphs into an action showcase for the martial arts prowess of Lucy Liu and Mark Dacascos, who play Jake's girlfriend and his nemesis, respectively. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a 20-minute “Moppin' Up with the Cleaning Crew” behind-the-scenes featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a sparse extras package for a thin comedy.] (F. Swietek)