Rush Hour: The Abridged Script
FADE IN:
INT. VAN – DAY
JULIA HSU
(in pitches only she and Chris Tucker can reach)
AHHHHH!!! AIEEE! HELP!!! AIEEEEEE!!
She SCREAMS for the next 12 full minutes, and in every other scene where she is present. She also hits JACKIE CHAN in the stomach whenever she can and sings Mariah Carey songs.
AUDIENCE
I hope they kill her.
INT. POLICE PRECINCT – DAY
CAPTAIN
You screwed up again, Tucker. I need you babysit Jackie Chan.
CHRIS TUCKER
WHADDAHELLYOUTALKIN’BOUTFOO’DONTUKNOWI WORKALONE?MOFO’BIZATCH? AINTUEVERTHINK-
REALIZE-I-DONT-GET-NO-PARTNER. Sheeeeeit.
CAPTAIN
Too bad. Pick him up at the airport tomorrow.
CHRIS TUCKER
DAMN, BITCH!
MOVIE SOUNDTRACK
(playing rap music)
Yeah! Uh-uh. Whoo! I’ll overbear the hell outta this scene! Woo!
INT. AIRPORT – DAY
JACKIE CHAN
Hi.
CHRIS TUCKER
BITCH WHAT DA HELL U SAYING HI TO ME FOR, WHO DA HELL U THINK I AM, SOME KINDA GREETER OR SOMETHING!? Get in da damn car.
AUDIENCE
Hmm. Ok, I’ve been sitting through plot for a while now… quite ready for some Jackie Chan action.
EXT. POOL HALL – DAY
CHRIS TUCKER
THISSA POOL HALL!
Suddenly, a FIGHT breaks out! JACKIE CHAN gets ready for it.
CHRIS TUCKER
WHAT DA HELL YOU DOIN? STEALIN THE SPOTLIGHT AWAY FROM ME, I OUGHTA KICK YOUR ASS, FOO!
AUDIENCE
AHH! I NEED A FIGHT DAMN IT!
CHRIS TUCKER
Ahh, fine. Just this once.
JACKIE and RANDOM BAD GUYS begin a FIGHT sequence.
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
WHATS GOING ON!? IM SO CONFUSED! HELP!
EDITOR MARK HELFRICH
I DONT UNDERSTAND! HOW DOES THIS FIGHT STUFF WORK!? YIKES!!
CAMERA OPERATORS
WHERE DO I GO? SHOULD I BE OVER HERE? WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING? WHATS HAPPENING!?
MOVIE SOUNDTRACK
CLASH!! CLASH!! CLASH!! CLASH!! CLASH!!
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
END THE SCENE!! I’M GONNA WET MYSELF!! END IT! HURRY! AIEEEE!!
INT. TUCKER’S CAR – DAY
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
Whew.
JACKIE CHAN
Where are we going?
CHRIS TUCKER
ANYWHERE WHERE I CAN COMPLAIN IN RIDICULOUSLY HIGH PITCHES AND MAKE BAD RACIAL JOKES TO PASS OFF AS HUMOR!
JACKIE CHAN
Am I going to be able to do any actual fight scenes, being that it’s what I do best?
INSURANCE GUYS ON SET
No.
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
What’s a fight scene? Hey, isn’t Chris funny? We worked together on Money Talks, you know.
INT. CHINESE ART THING.. SOMETHING LIKE THAT – DAY
JACKIE enters. BAD GUYS, who nobody even has to worry about actually beating CHAN, stand around. SUDDENLY, a FIGHT breaks out again.
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
Ok.. I think I figured out how to do these…but.. Chris, would you mind doing half of the fighting so that we don’t make it look like Jackie Chan is actually even in this movie?
CHRIS TUCKER
Sure.
Everyone FIGHTS. JACKIE does impressive stuff, most of which is cut away from so the scene can focus on CHRIS. Eventually, everyone’s ass is kicked, except the bad guy holding a bomb detonation device.
JULIA HSU
HELP!! AIEE! I HAVE A BOMB ON ME!
JACKIE CHAN
I will help you.
ELIZABETH PENA
Let me remove this bomb. By the way, I am a bomb squad chick, and I have a meaningless little part in this movie, but I will pretend to be a major part of it in interviews.
She removes the BOMB from the annoying girl.
JULIA HSU
Thank you, Jackie!
She kicks JACKIE in the CROTCH.
CHRIS TUCKER
YAY! LOOKS LIKE WE OVERCAME THE ODDS!
EXT. END CREDITS – DAY
OUTTAKE SCENE
I will destroy the Jackie Chan tradition of featuring him messing up stunts in the movie, and instead feature just bloopers and line screwups.
DIRECTOR BRETT RATNER
Ok.. let me get my check list… yes, I’ve destroyed everything that’s good in a Jackie Chan movie. My work here is done.
AUDIENCE
What the hell does “Rush Hour” have to do with this movie, anyway?
END




Always a great one, this script.
Rush Hour 3 is on right now, and boy, if you thought the first two films already did every possible racial joke, you is dead wrong. Not a half-hour in and already a tall Asian gag and a scene centered around the punchline of a white nun saying ‘My brotha.’ CAN YOU IMAGINE? A NUN! NUNS DON’T NORMALLY SAY THAT! IT IS AGAINST TYPE!
February 21st, 2008 at 5:39 pmWow, the soundtrack and the outtake scenes were talking!
February 21st, 2008 at 7:45 pmGod damn. I couldn’t stop laughing while reading the first fight sequence.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:48 amHahahaha I know what you mean.
Rod, can I have your babies?
July 16th, 2008 at 5:06 pmThe outtakes did show some failed stunts.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:40 am[...] When you work on a studio lot, you see people you may not see elsewhere. When they were shooting Rush Hour 3, I saw Jackie Chan rolling around on a segway all the time. (Of course, I wasn’t allowed [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 11:11 amBrett Ratner is the cancer of the movie industry.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:57 am