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DOUBLE TAKE

"Two Stereotypes for the Price of One"

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What You Need To Know:

In DOUBLE TAKE, Orlando Jones plays a successful African-American investment banker framed for murder and on the lam from the police, with only a petty thief, played by black TV comic Eddie Griffin, to help him. The comic idea behind DOUBLE TAKE is the juxtaposition of these two characters: a Harvard-educated businessman who has “forgotten” his black “roots,” and a small-time hustler from the ‘hood who may have joined the police or may be playing some sort of other game. Although riddled with racial stereotyping, this premise affords some pretty hilarious dialogue with a number of clever, creative lines.

Regrettably, witty dialogue cannot save DOUBLE TAKE from its convoluted, tedious plot, which features a good deal of violence. Most of the violence is pretty bloodless by Hollywood standards, and the film mostly eschews sex and nudity, beyond a fair amount of conversational sexual innuendo. Still, this is not a movie any child should see, based on the foul language alone. It will offend many adults as well. Ultimately, viewers will think DOUBLE TAKE is too trifling to waste their time on at the theater. It’s an overlong sitcom without the usual restraints from TV censors.

Content:

(RoRo, Ab, LLL, VVV, S, N, A, DD, MM) Romantic worldview that suggests society to blame for social “problems” & evil, plus man says he’s a Christian but line is meant for a joke; 89 obscenities & 8 profanities plus use of the “N” word during the fast dialogue; strong action violence including multiple scenes with gunfire (not graphic, but resulting in deaths & woundings), fistfights, dog bites people, man throws other man off train, & some slapstick humor such as man hits railroad signal; no sex scenes, but some sexual innuendoes & some sexual harrassment from women; women shown in revealing underwear during modeling show & female cleavage; alcohol use in several scenes; smoking & story revolves around drug dealers; and, some anti-police sentiments though story eventually backs away from being really anti-police, deceit, fraud, anti-Hispanic stereotyping & humor, & man framed.

More Detail:

The movie DOUBLE TAKE is sort of a poor man’s TRADING PLACES. With a weak, nearly impenetrable plot, the movie is mainly a vehicle for the passable comedic talents of its two stars, Eddie Griffin and Orlando Jones. The dialogue and acting are often breathtakingly bad. The script, however, does contain a number of funny lines and scenes, although they are often riddled with profanity (including liberal doses of the “N” word).

From what can be determined from the plot, Orlando Jones plays Daryl Chase, a Harvard graduate and financier who inadvertently gets caught up in a fraudulent monetary scheme (a more specific description is impossible because none of this ever becomes clear). Eventually, he gets framed for the murder of two policemen and goes on the lam. Pursued by various officials who claim to be from a range of law-enforcement agencies — from the FBI to the CIA — he eventually wends his way to Mexico. All the while he is shadowed by a man named “Freddie Tiffany” (Eddie Griffin), who claims at various junctures to be an FBI agent, a common street hustler and everything in between.

Throughout this movie, neither Daryl nor the audience (not that viewers will care) can distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. Based on gut instinct, however, Daryl elects to trust Freddie Tiffany and lets him accompany him on his run from the law. During the story, Freddie and Daryl often exchange identities and exaggeratedly assume each other’s mannerisms and dialect in several funny scenes.

The basic comic idea behind DOUBLE TAKE is the juxtaposition of these two characters: a Harvard-educated businessman who has “forgotten” his black “roots,” and a small-time hustler from the ‘hood who may have joined the police or may be playing some sort of other game, for good or bad intentions. Although riddled with racial stereotyping, this premise affords some pretty hilarious dialogue with a number of clever, creative lines. Regrettably, witty dialogue cannot save this movie from its convoluted, tedious plot, which features a good deal of gun violence. It’s worth noting that most of the murders are pretty bloodless by Hollywood standards, and the film utterly eschews sex and nudity, beyond a lot of conversational sexual innuendo. DOUBLE TAKE also harbors an endearing kindness toward animals.

Still, this is not a movie any child should see, if only based on the foul language alone, and many adults will find it offensive as well. Ultimately, many viewers, if not most, will think DOUBLE TAKE is too trifling to waste their time on at the theater. It’s an overlong sitcom without the restraints placed by TV censors.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.