Jumpin' Jack Flash

Whoopi Goldberg saves the day in this comedy, that is not brilliant (I've seen hundreds of better movies) but it pleases anyway. The plot is not that original, but it's interesting. Watching this movie is a good thing to do in a Sunday afternoon when you're together with your family and friends.

Undercooked, but ribald, enjoyable espionage-themed comedy about a computer programmer for a national bank in New York City who gets her own "Mission: Impossible" when a government agent taps into her system. Whoopi Goldberg really has no character to play here, so she wings it; tossing off one-liners and impersonations, she's a stitch, a true original. The production designer has decorated Whoopi's pad with offbeat movie posters, memorabilia and over-sized toys, but couldn't do much with the rest of this scenario, which dog-paddles along until we get to the predictable (though satisfying) conclusion. Some of the supporting characters (like Jim Belushi's mysterious heavy or Annie Potts' wife of a secret agent) come, go, and vanish completely, and the flick is held together with the barest minimum of tape. Still, it's a lot of fun anyway, which is completely due to Goldberg's sass. *** from ****

"Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a very funny comedy-thriller starring comedienne and current "Hollywood Squares" star Whoopi Goldberg in the movie she made after her outstanding performance in "The Color Purple". This was her first big comedy and she's terrific in it. Goldberg stars as Terry Doolittle, a computer operator at a New York bank. At the end of a long day of work, she gets an awkward message from a British spy who's in trouble. As a result she gets plunged into a world of international intrigue and danger. Sure the premise of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is silly. But it's an entertaining movie, thanks to Goldberg's performance. She's the whole show here. One of the best moments in the film is the one when the spy asks her to "sing with me and find the key", and she listens to the lyrics of the Mick Jagger song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" so she can find the word or words to crack the spy's code. This scene is a classic. Just get a load of the way Goldberg acts in this scene. It's hilarious. This scene proves that Goldberg is a great comic actress. There's also the scene where, after almost getting killed, Goldberg confronts a police detective played by "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride" director Garry Marshall (who oddly enough is the brother of the director of this film, former "Laverne & Shirley" star Penny Marshall making her directorial debut here). Get a load of the foul language displayed by Goldberg in this scene. I was laughing hysterically out loud. There are also action scenes that really aren't necessary, but they're exciting and thrilling. And there are good supporting performances by Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, John Wood, Annie Potts, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jim Belushi, Jon Lovitz, and the late Phil Hartman. But the real star here is Whoopi. She alone makes "Jumpin' Jack Flash" worth seeing. And it's far better that Whoopi's next two movies after this: "Burglar" and "Fatal Beauty".

*** (out of four)

This is a fast-paced and to-the-point crime comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg as banker Terry Doolittle who communicates with clients electronically on her computer throughout the world. One day, she receives a coded message from an unknown man who is pleading for help, as he is stuck in limbo in an unknown country. The suspense builds as an espionage case is revealed to be involved and culprits are after Terry.

Goldberg delivers her unique brand of humor (especially liked the scene where her cocktail dress got caught in the shredder) and her fast-talking and no-nonsense attitude. Stephen Collins plays Terry's newly-hired co-worker Marty Phillips, who seems to be caught in places where Terry is in trouble. Carol Kane plays Terry's sassy and high-pitched voice co-worker Cynthia, and Annie Potts plays the mysterious Liz Carlson, who seems to be the only person Terry can trust in the espionage case.

It's a somewhat classic-style spy genre film, which I thought could have used a bit more action and suspense. However, the plot was well-paced and the acting was pretty good, giving us a pretty entertaining feature.

Grade B

28 July 2009. At times Whoopi Godberg goes too far and becomes weird and at other times brings her own unique, frolicking fresh comedy that outshines most traditional comic gaps. Sometimes the plot is convoluted from logical belief and at other times grips with a sizzling suspenseful twist. This movie is a mixed bag, but has a nice espionage storyline that holds up well especially considering this is an early mix of both serious spy drama with comic humor, a usually impossibly difficult blend to get right. There are some old new young faces here. The main plot point of rarely actually seeing one of the main characters is intriguing and unique to this movie, one of its claim of fame. Repeated viewing isn't recommended very often, as part of the compelling nature of this movie is its mystery action theme which gets somewhat old and helps to keep the movie going along with the usually balance drama-comic high points.