# Undercover Blues (1993)

### reviewed by
Shane Burridge

    Undercover Blues (1993) 93m.

Straightforward spy comedy runs on one gag but gets a lot of mileage out of it. Not unexpectedly, it does run out of gas before the end, but there are plenty of bright spots along the way. The title refers simultaneously to undercover cops and, more irritatingly, to the surname of husband-and-wife team Jeff and Jane (Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner). What it definitely does not refer to are any 'blues' suffered by agents feeling down about their job, and it is the free and easy manner projected by Quaid and Turner that provides this film with its heart.

Their holiday in New Orleans interrupted by a plea to return to service and extradite a visiting terrorist, the Blues wander fecklessly through one confrontation after another, seemingly improvising the investigation as they go. The central gag: this 'normal' married couple are trained undercover agents, and in the manner of a long cinematic history of secret agents, manage to turn the tables on every unsuspecting foe they cross. It's been done before, but this time it's different. Cast your mind back to every other spy film you've seen (barring the more outlandish, surreal spoofs) and you'll know that no matter how infallible the protagonist appears to be, there will always be a moment of reckoning. It makes screenwriting sense - if the character is invulnerable, there can be no element of suspense. UNDERCOVER BLUES throws that rule right out of the window: the reason it is so enjoyable is precisely because we have absolute confidence in these two characters. Quaid, with his huge aw-shucks grin, is completely insouciant as he walks into one bad situation after another; Turner's sense of fun is barely concealed throughout her performance. The reason why this approach works in UNDERCOVER BLUES where it would fail in other films is because of a third element - the Blue's baby. Wherever Quaid and Turner go, the baby accompanies them: it's a prop to show us that nothing bad is going to happen, that the comedy isn't going to turn sour with a dubious 'serious' scene or random act of violence. It's not until the film's climax that it there is one moment where the Blue's savior-faire may be about to come undone, but it is so fleeting that we've barely time to doubt them.

The investigation element of the story follows an unhurried, meandering track that blends in with both the New Orleans setting (which otherwise is never exploited) and the holiday mood that Quaid and Turner refuse to abandon despite their reassignment. Their juggling of babysitters, sightseeing, and 'business' make the act of espionage as ordinary as the lives of the married couple they befriend in their hotel. It's inevitable that this incidental treatment of the story's motive might turn off some viewers, but it's a logical approach when weighed against the mood UNDERCOVER BLUES is aiming for. To add a little spark, Stanley Tucci gives a hilarious performance as a small-time crook ("My name is Death!") pursuing a hopeless vendetta against the couple. He'd all but steal the show if Quaid and Turner weren't so perfectly congenial as his adversaries. Also with: Larry Miller as a local undercover cop in awe of the Blues, and Obba Babatunde as his less-than-impressed partner. Favorite scene: Quaid's confrontation with Tucci at the zoo.

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