Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang

I love the movie. Gary Busey does an excellent villian. The producer and the writer did an excellent job. The plot was good too. The songs are good in here. Ice-T does a good rap song. It's a kid movie, that's for sure. I would show it to my kid. It's pretty weird and pretty good.

I probably came across this at the best time - 3 a.m. while channel surfing. I could not believe this was Gary Busey. And, then, imagine my surprise when I also learned it was Miranda Richardson. What? Were these people at the work house? Had they fallen so low as to do this dreck?

One might possibly term this a warmed over Captain Hook story where for some reason (all right, I did miss the beginning) children were imprisoned by a demented ex-wrestler who demanded that they keep a fog machine in operation so that their prison could remain hidden.

I know this is a children's movie but I don't even think a 5-year-old would have bought this story.

For shame.

Mordecai Richler is a Canadian legend who write many timeless books with the "Jacob Two Two" books being his best books for children. The first "Jacob" book got transitioned into the big screen in the late 1970s that nobody remembers. Twenty years later, a weirder, more disturbing version comes out with a memorable cast that includes Gary Busey as the Hooded Fang.

Jacob Is the youngest in a big family that is scared of everything and us always ignored. He is so used to repeating himself that it becomes habitual, hence the nickname Jacob Two Two.

One day, he sees a professional wrestler called "The Hooded Fang" on tv and his fears reach new heights. Wanting to show he's more grown up, he convinces his parents to let him buy two tomatoes from the local grocer. Jacob is polite, but the mean owner (Maury Chaykin) jokes around with him claiming the six-year-old is harassing him. Jacob makes a run for it but gets knocked out. The majority of the movie is Jacob having a dream of the people he recently encountered.

Jacob is found guilty (by a judge played by Ice T) for harassment and is sent to Slimers Island where all bad children go. Head of the prison is the Hooded Fang. Jacob must overcome his fears and get off the island once and for all. Full of cruelty and scary people, the movie is not a very nice watch. And Slimers Island looks like somewhere familiar to stoners.

You could say that this is a good story about courage and kindness and whatnot, but this 1999 film is not pleasurable. The grocer is mean for his prank, the Hooded Fang is mean, his sidekicks (Mark McKinney & Miranda Richardson) are mean, and all else is extremely bizarre. It is as if the director hates its characters that Richler made. His hatred rubs off into us.

I was 2+2+2 years old just like Two-Two when I first saw this. As a child that young, I liked what I saw. Fast forward, and I see that this is the opposite of good.

1.5/4

Jacob Two Two is the best movie I have ever seen! I am stunned that it did not even get an oscar nod..Gary Busey plays the role of a lifetime, and Jacob is super cool. ICE-T drops some funky raps too! All in all, I have not seen a better movie since The Langoliers. Truly a film for all ages.

Although I haven't seen this movie, I saw the 1970's version as my first movie theater outing on a school trip when I was only seven years old. Jacob Two-Two is a cultural icon in Canada. Children are told this story and study it in school, as it is one of the most famous of Mordecai Richler's writings. He was a well-loved Quebecois writer.

Don't diss the actors in this movie because you are not aware of the background of the story. One could make similar comments of depressing scariness involving children about any number of stories that children clearly love, for example the Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events series, or even the modern remaking of any fairy tale! And as you know, children are not concerned with costumes or plot on the same level as older people. They love things that seem strange and cheesy to adults -- witness the success of Barney and The Power Rangers.

I think it's great that there is a new version of Jacob Two-Two for today, and I am looking forward to watching it.