Jack

An all-star cast are recruited together to tell the tale of a 10-year old boy whose body grows 4 times that of a normal kid his age.

Robin Williams ('Hook') is great as the title role, while Fran Drescher ('The Nanny') and Jennifer Lopez ('Money Train') are also fantastic. Bill Cosby is also here, as good as ever.

The storyline and scripting is good (nothing great) and the acting is first-class... even the kids have some talent!

A feel-good family film that has some very funny moments and some very sad moments, but all-in-all a really good film. 7/10.

It seems like when "Jack" came out, many critics found it absurd if not insulting. I admit that the idea of someone aging at four times the normal rate is a little outlandish, but I still wish to assert that the movie is worth seeing. True, Robin Williams is more subdued than usual, but some of his antics are pretty funny, as he tries to find his place in a world younger than he looks. I really liked the part about "Zack problem".

Seeing Jennifer Lopez here, it's weird to think that she once starred in watchable movies. Also starring are Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin, Bill Cosby and Fran Drescher. Francis Ford Coppola pulled off another interesting one here.

Pregnant Diane Lane goes into labor after only two months, delivering a healthy-seeming baby boy (when she pleads "it's too soon!" to her husband in the delivery room, it's rather an understatement). Doctors have never seen another child like this, yet quickly determine the boy has an internal clock which is ahead of itself by four times the average rate (meaning that when Jack is 10-years old, he'll look like a man of 40). Talk about your movie gimmicks! All that aside, what we really have here is Robin Williams back in grade school, and that provides for some good, if derivative, humor. The performances are all fine and, while the set-up may sound inexcusable, "Jack" isn't a silly movie (at least, not at its core). Williams manages to hold back a bit from his usual barrage of vocal effects and facial expressions, and a few of his scenes are peddled quite softly (as they were in "Awakenings"). There are some scenes that go over-the-top: Jack's gross-talking school-friends are a nuisance, and some viewers may get defensive when Coppola starts tugging at the heartstrings. Otherwise, this is a warm family comedy, one with a bigger heart than it knows what to do with. **1/2 from ****

Many reviewers have compared this work to Tom Hanks's Big, wherein a young boy wishes he were "big," and the wish is granted. However, this work is the anti-thesis of that work, as an adult portrays a young child, physically, which thrusts Jack into the same venue as Martin Short's "Clifford," which was done some two years prior to this work.

That not withstanding, Clifford was a holy terror, while Jack is a mother's dream. While both works require a total suspension of belief in order to enjoy them, Jack is endearing, sweet, sentimental, and entertaining. There is nothing endearing, sweet, or sentimental about Clifford.

Jack is born with a genetic disorder which causes him to age 4 years for every 10, thereby causing him to appear as a 40 year old man at the age of 10.

Many have bludgeoned Coppola's involvement in such a scheme, citing his prior "masterpiece" works while bemoaning this one. The fans seem to forget that artistic people who do not spread their wings, and plant their feet on strange ground, never grow as individuals and artists.

Some found this work "insulting" due to the premise. It is called unintelligent. But not all films are based on intellect, and not all movie-goers care to have to think in order to enjoy a movie. And there is the added benefit of the heartwarming sentiment carried by this work.

It did well in the box office, nearly doubling its budget, worldwide, and is generally under-rated here at IMDb (if only mildly so), which says that word of mouth (that this film wasn't as bad as the critics said) carried this film further than the negative reviews would have liked.

It rates a 6.2/10 from...

the Fiend :.

I do not think Jack is as bad as it is made out to be, but it is one of my least favourite Francis Ford Coppola films. The film is overlong, has some weak spots in the script and drags a bit at times. However, it does look decent, with the cinematography and sceneries nicely done, the soundtrack is credible enough, Coppola directs admirably and I loved the concept(reminded me a bit of Big). Robin Williams also gives an exuberant turn in the lead, while Diane Lane and Brian Kerwin are subtle and Jennifer Lopez is surprisingly sweet and believable. Overall, Jack is a decent enough film. It is lacking a bit and one of the weaker films of a truly great director, but it is worth seeing for Williams and the concept. 6/10 Bethany Cox