Jack (1996)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers (WGA):

James DeMonaco (written by) &
Gary Nadeau (written by)

Release Date:

9 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Jack Powell is about to tackle his biggest adventure ever... the fifth grade!

Plot:

Because of an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four times faster than a normal human being, a boy enters the fifth grade for the first time with the appearance of a 40 year old man.

Plot Keywords:

Aging Disorder | Youth | Disease | Premature Birth | Heart Attack

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 18

1:30 PM

FAM

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Jack Charles Powell
Diane Lane	...	Karen Powell
Brian Kerwin	...	Brian Powell
Jennifer Lopez	...	Miss Marquez
Bill Cosby	...	Lawrence Woodruff
Fran Drescher	...	Dolores 'D.D.' Durante
Adam Zolotin	...	Louis 'Louie' Durante
Todd Bosley	...	Eddie
Seth Smith	...	John-John
Mario Yedidia	...	George
Jeremy Lelliott	...	Johnny Duffer
Jurnee Smollett	...	Phoebe
Dani Faith	...	Jane
Hugo Hernandez	...	Victor
Rickey D'Shon Collins	...	Eric

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate no. 34700) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Brazil:10 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Mare Island, Vallejo, California, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Francis Ford Coppola gave Robin Williams camping gear to spend the night in his backyard and ten dollars to spend at Toys R Us before shooting the film.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Jack ages at four times the standard rate and has always been this way. This doesn't necessarily mean that all his metabolic functions have been so accelerated, so, for example, it's OK if his beard doesn't grow at four times the standard rate.

Quotes:

Lawrence Woodruff: Do you know why I teach, Jack?
Jack: No.
Lawrence Woodruff: Well, I teach, not to pass on knowledge, not to produce great people, but because I enjoy meeting young people and being around them. And, Jack, you were my most exceptional pupil. Because even being what you are, you still had a desire to learn. Now, tell me, have you ever seen a shooting star, Jack?
[Jack shakes his head]
Lawrence Woodruff: No?... Well, they're very rare. They're seen in the sky for only a very brief time. But when they appear, they are so bright, and so brilliant, that all the other normal stars just stand still, and watch that star as it passes among them.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Soundtrack:

Reunited

Coppola's valentine to childhood; maudlin, yes...but forgivably so

A curiosity coming from Francis Ford Coppola (who also co-produced for Zoetrope) has pregnant Diane Lane going into labor after only two months, delivering a healthy-seeming baby boy (when she pleads to her husband in the delivery room, "It's too soon!", 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 ten-years old he'll look like a man of forty. This peculiar movie gimmick aside, what we really have here is Robin Williams back in grade school. Although this may sound perfectly inexcusable, not to mention somewhat derivative, it isn't a silly movie (at least, not at its core) and has good acting. 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"). Also quite fine are Bill Cosby as Jack's initial tutor and Jennifer Lopez as his schoolteacher. The little boys are way over-the-top, and some of their gross-out talk is just stupid (they hole up in a tree house, equipped with TV, looking at nudie magazines--probably an attempt to mirror grown-ups but it plays sour). Oddly, Coppola can't stop himself from ultimately tugging at the old heartstrings, and not just once but for an entire sequence and an epilogue! I could have done without the "seven years later" bit, but for the most part this is a warm family comedy with a bigger heart than it knows what to do with. ** from ****