The Spy who Bored Me

I more or less had to see The Spy Next Door because it stars Jackie Chan. The good news: I've seen worse Jackie Chan movies.

Jackie plays a Chinese spy on loan to the CIA. While he has been working undercover as a nebbish, he has been romancing his suburban neighbor, a free-spirited artist with three stereotyped kids. The kids, a rebellious teenaged girl, a poorly socialized nerd and an angelic toddler who wants to be a princess. The problem - the kids think Jackie is too boring (and possibly too Asian) for their mom. -- SPOILER -- He bonds with them and they discover the true meaning of "family".

This isn't really all that bad. The kids are cute, even if a bit stale. The action is fun, but Jackie is working way below his potential, even taking his advancing age into consideration. Chan is actually a good choice for a role like this, because you can imagine him as a nerd or a family man. But the stunts and action are seriously lacking. Amber Valletta is nice as his honey - although she is actress cute, her face show plenty of age-appropriate wrinkles. She's very bland, though, and there isn't much chemistry between her and Chan. You get the feeling that she's settling, and he's just got a thing for tall blondes.

Thinking it over, and counting only movies where he is the star, maybe I haven't seen any worse Jackie Chan movies.