So Jake (Cedric the Entertainer) wakes up in a swanky hotel room with a bump on his head, lying next to a dead FBI agent and a briefcase full of money ... the problem is that he can’t remember who he is, or how he got there. This begins the story of “Code Name: The Cleaner”, and the Jake character spends the rest of the movie running around being silly, trying to piece together the events that got him there, and then trying to swashbuckle his way out of the mess that results.

“Code Name: Cleaner” is a mindless movie ... silly ... dumb, even. It teaches you nothing, and has no redeeming value. Usually, when I see a movie like that, I walk out of the theater frustrated, angry at “the powers that be” that I had to waste my time sitting through that movie, and cheated that I will never get those two hours of my life back! Not so with this movie, however, and I think the difference is simply because “Cleaner” made me laugh. It was so ridiculous and so silly, that it was actually funny.

Looking back on the movie, it felt a little bit like watching an episode of “Three’s Company.” That show was silly, ridiculous, and maybe even borderline retarded … but still you laughed at how goofy Jack Tripper was, and chuckled at how that character related with Janet and Chrissy. It was not good intelligent storytelling, but it was just mindless entertainment. So it is with “Code Name: The Cleaner”.

The true highlights of the movie take place when DeRay Davis (who plays the “dirty-clean rapper”) is on screen. Any review that doesn’t mention this guy’s performance in the movie (even as just a bit-character) is purely negligent, in my opinion.

So is this a favorable recommendation for “The Cleaner”? No, not really. Is this movie one that you should avoid at all costs? Nope, not that either. All I can tell you is that it was totally mindless humor, and that I laughed at this one.

Armstead’s Second:  So I’m on vacay with the family, and never one to neglect my cherished duties here at the FCU, I take a couple of movies to watch so I can drop some review knowledge on our loyal reader.  One of the movies was a little slice of tripe called ‘Who Made the Potatoe Salad’ starring Steve Urkel himself, Jaleel White.  You can read the review here, but trust me when I tell you the movie was pretty damn bad.

One of the films saving graces however was the performance turned in by one DeRay Davis who was gut bustingly funny in his limited role in that film.  A few days later, back from vacay, but still held hostage by crappy movies, 2007 explodes to a slow new year start with ‘Codename: Cleaner’.  This movie couldn’t have been any more stupid than if they had tried, and at times, it didn’t seem as if they were trying at all, with some rather uncomfortable stretches of non-humor turned in by Mr. Entertainer.  ‘Cleaner’ did have Nicolette Sheridan walking around in her skivvies and since she has about as nice a figure of just about any 44-year old woman on the planet, that’s always good to see.  On a side note relating to next to nothing, in the movie ‘Raw Nerve’ starring Mario Van Peebles you can see Ms. Sheridan with the skivvies completely off.  Just in case you were curious.

But this is all about DeRay Davis who in his three scenes was funnier than this movie, and whole lot of other so-called comedies I’ve recently had the displeasure of seeing combined.  Here’s hoping Mr. Davis can get out of the stupid movie rut and get into something that folks are actually going to see.