Jack, roi de la glisse

As a future ASL interpreter and general Deaf culture enthusiast, I watch any movie I can find with sign language or Deaf characters. Imagine my shock when, not only was the character of Tara not played by a Deaf actress, she was not portrayed very well by the hearing one! I understand that this was a subplot, and probably not a very important one to most people (after all, there was an animal on screen! Doing human-y things!), but some accuracy could have been striven for. Of all the Deaf and hearing impaired children I have worked with and been friends with, not one of them signs with their mouth shut. In fact, ASL has a very strong facial element, involving mouth movement and some sounds. And any family that knew how to sign would hopefully not force their child to lipread at home. Even the best lipreader only gets about 70% of the words spoken compared to 100% of the words signed in the beautiful and eloquent language called ASL. If a movie-making team can't spend the time and effort to get a Deaf character right, they shouldn't include one at all. I appreciate they had to have someone who could communicate with the chimp, but they could have made up something much more believable than a semi-famous hearing actress trying to convince me she's Deaf. Like the chimp learning to talk for the role.

Let me start out by saying I am not a big sports fan, I do not like chimps, and I'm an accountant. I am normally not into comedies. I like practical and sober commentaries on the status of social consciousness. But I tell you, when I saw MVP, I did see a tint of social commentary, however, what sold me was the heart. The heart of a young chimp trying to make his way in an unforgiving human environment, reminds me of my struggles during my first tax season. This movie will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will even make you think, but most importantly, it will make you laugh while you think of crying.

The most astounding part of this movie is the potential of non-taxable income on the part of MVP. Here's a chimp who has the ability to play in the NHL, thus the ability to generate a lucrative income. I've done my research, and I've found no section of the Internal Revenue Code that applies to chimpanzees, or any other animal for that matter. Meaning, MVP could reap the multi-million dollar contracts we hear so much about, and to the dismay of the IRS, not report a dime! If this chimp is smart, which I dare say he is, he should invest this income into non-taxable municipal bonds. Yeah, that'll really get those fat cats in Washington mad.

Low quality, but a harmlessly fine 90 minutes.

I found 'MVP: Most Valuable Primate' to be perfectly passable. Sure it isn't a movie that requires any sort of thinking, it's very silly and would never top great film lists and/or win any major awards. However, not a single part of me disliked this as a movie. It's flimsy but watchable. The beginning also holds more depth than anticipated.

Kevin Zegers and Jamie Renée Smith are likeable leads, while those chimps are cute - and convincing 'actors', btw! Rick Ducommun is also involved, always remember that guy from 1994's 'Blank Check'. Elsewhere, I proper thought Devin Ratray appears here as Larry, turns out he was played by Trevor Roberts - a bit of a doppelgänger!

Two more of these flicks left to watch. One of the best trilogies of all-time, I'm sure.

Okay, like the guy above me, I like, totally loved this movie. Why did I love it? 'Cause it was frigg'n sweet, that's why.

See, this movie is kinda like a microcosm of society. There's like, this guy, right, who gets picked on all his life for being different. The guy, in this movie, is really a monkey (JACK I LUV U). So, when society gets a guy down, they totally go nuts and join a hockey team and smash people in the face with pucks. I learned a lot from this movie because of that! The sweetest part was when Jack was hanging out outside the hockey rink, smokin' a jay. The audience is like, "what's this street-smart go-getter planning to do?" Then, this guy who threw a cup at his head while he was getting ready to nail the puck in and win the game starts to walk out of the building. Jack, sweet as ever, grabs a skateboard and chucks it at his head and says something like "I hope you still aren't 'board'!" and then he laughs for the remaining half hour of the movie.

Words cannot describe my feelings for this movie. It brings out something powerful in me... like, I dunno, the need to play video games and eat pizza just like Jack would. There are some movies that grab you, and then there are movies which pick you up and slam you against the wall about fourteen times. This is the latter. Thank you, and god bless.

I thought the movie was adoring! Monkeys are so intelligent! I personally never liked movies with monkeys in them (e.g. Dunston Checks In, Mighty Joe Young etc.) But thanks to my baby cousin for requesting this movie, as I would have never known the amazing qualities that a monkey can have!

Jack, the monkey, is an amazing creature. It never strikes to ANYONE that it's possible for a monkey to skate on ice! Even I, myself have a little trouble sometimes!

Jamie Renee Smith is a great actor! Since she couldn't speak that well, we had to rely on her facial expressions, which were very believable.

Kevin Zegers, what can I say? Great looking actor, I must say, but I really don't think he was put to his full potential for this movie. He always seemed to look a little nervous most of the time. Otherwise, brilliant movie, and I suggest ANYONE who wants something to do, watch this movie!