Canguro Jack

Two childhood friends, a New York hairstylist and a would-be musician, get caught up with the mob and are forced to deliver $50,000 to Australia, but things go haywire when the money is lost to a wild kangaroo.

This film is notorious for its deceptive advertising. Everyone thought it would be about a talking kangaroo. And, after all, the film is called "Kangaroo jack", so it makes sense you would expect the lead character to be the kangaroo. But, in fact, the kangaroo does not talk, and has a relatively small part to play in the movie (even if he is the key figure to the whole plot).

If you keep your expectations low, this is actually a fun film. Very predictable, sort of stupid, but watch it with some friends and you might just have a fun time. And it is pretty wholesome for the most part. Some mild violence, a bit of forced romance, but nothing too adult and hardly any curse words. That seems to be more and more rare these days (2015).

As a special treat, one of the supporting cast members is Michael Shannon (and Christopher Walken has a small part). This is before Shannon really got noticed or came to be respected as a critical success. Watch him in this role, though. Despite it being a pretty awful film, Shannon shines. He gives it 100% even when Jerry O'Connell is happy just to get a paycheck.

Let's get to the point. Kangaroo Jack is necessarily the worst film of all time, but neither is it the greatest. It's not even close. What it is though is fairly humorous, though usually silly.

The story is a bit good at parts, but far-fetched at others. Charlie and Louis were best friends ever since childhood, after one saved another from drowning. One of their fathers was a gangster or something, and the two are sent with a job to deliver the money to some other dude. The story isn't quite a bad one, and does take a little twist. (The twist is related to the job.) The main flaw in the story is that the movie is supposedly aimed at kids. Do you think kids will understand anything about mafia or anything like that?

Despite that, there are other moments not aimed at kids. One of the jokes includes Charlie grabbing on of the other character's chest. Another scene includes a homophobic joke. ("We're having an intimate, non-gay moment.) The film is a bit funny and entertaining, but the farting and homophobic jokes, along with the strange storyline makes it less than what it could have been, but I still enjoyed it more than other films such as The Cat in the Hat, Scary Movie and Dude, Where's My Car?

5/10

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Two Brooklyn friends (Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson) are commissioned by a mob boss (Christopher Walken) to deliver $50,000 to a shady character in the Outback. The operation goes awry when a kangaroo inadvertently runs off with one of the guys' jacket... and the money. Michael Shannon is on hand as a mob heavy.

"Kangaroo Jack" (2003) is a likable family-friendly adventure/comedy with the typical eye-rolling kid humor (e.g. Fart jokes). It's fun, harmless hokum highlighted by spectacular Australian cinematography and the beautiful Estella Warren as an Outback preservationist. The humorous camaraderie of the protagonists is another highpoint. But the story isn't as compelling as I hoped it would be and the camera never really captures Estella's beauty beyond her lovely face and bosom.

It runs 1 hour, 29 minutes and was shot in Australia and Brooklyn with reshoots done in Los Angeles.

GRADE: C+

Get stoned and watch this movie. You'll laugh a lot for sure! But nevertheless, it does not deserve this much hate? Of course plot holes, corny parts, but damn Anthony Anderson is hilarious, Michael Shannon is always awesome... COME ON!

To be honest "Kangaroo Jack" isn't an horrible movie. It has some solid main characters and some good comical moments and situations but it is all ruined by the story that is totally without a point and lame. Who ever green-lighted this project?

Even though he plays obviously a quite prominent role in the movie, the character of Kangaroo Jack feels totally out of place and not relevant for the movie. He feels totally pointless and makes the movie a very lame one to watch at times with some easy and childish humor and situations in it. Without his character this movie probably would had been a better one and certainly a more watchable one.

The actors Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson really don't form a bad comical duo but they are truly given awful material to work with at times. The movie feels like a waste of the two main characters. And what ever was Christopher Walken thinking? I still can't believe that he agreed to play a part in this movie. It's like having Marlon Brando in "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Totally out of place and below his professional level.

The movie is good looking and it's obvious that director David McNally still has a notable talent for movie making. He still adds feeling and style to the movie even though it can't all conceal the movie its lame and pointless story.

It's still good for a few laughs but it overall has more minuses than pluses in it, so I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone unless you're really bored.

4/10

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