Is it possible for a film to be "bad" but still have a good message? If so, Jack would be the perfect example of such a film. Its humor is juvenile and forced, its characters are one-dimensional, and it only seems to exist for the sole purpose of pleasing mainstream audiences. However, at the end of the day (so to speak), it can't be denied that the film has a smart and emotional message. Does disliking the film mean that I disagree with the message or think that it's stupid? No, not at all. I do, however, think that this film - along with Bram Stoker's Dracula - proves that Francis Ford Coppola doesn't have a spotless career.
The film follows the titular Jack - a boy who grows four times faster than the rest of the world. By age ten, Jack appears to be a fully-grown 40-year-old man. Because of his condition and his parents' concern, Jack has spent his entire life being tutored at home. After his tutor recommends public schooling, though, Jack must try to fit in with his fellow fifth-graders despite his much older appearance.
The concept is decent, at best, but the film's characters are shallow and utterly annoying. There's no depth or sense of purpose in any of them, including our main character, Jack. They exist only to spout off terrible jokes and to advance the plot points of the film. Not only are the characters completely dull and lifeless, but they're very stereotypical as well. The "tough" kids are tough for the sake of the plot, the geeky kids exist to represent the "other" side of life in elementary school, etc. and so forth. The same can be said for literally all of the characters in this film - they're one-dimensional, boring, and painfully cliche.
Speaking of pain, the humor in this movie is utterly stupid. It relies on physical and schoolboy humor that gets insanely old before it's barely even introduced. There's nothing clever or witty about the script at all, as it's virtually nothing but slapstick and "fart jokes". There's even a sequence that tries for laughs with a "gross-out" food moment. It's not even remotely funny and I can't imagine how someone like Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) could've directed something this awful. There is literally not one or even slightly humorous moment in the entire movie. It was just two hours of torture...
One other big flaw is that the film doesn't know who its audience is. Is it a movie aimed at children or adults? If it's adults, movie-goers may find themselves annoyed at the film's childish sense of humor. If it's for kids, the whole message and the sexual references will just fly over their heads while they laugh at jokes that call people "butt-breath". Not only that, but the budding flirtation between Jack and his friend's mother is just weird and completely out-of-place. I know that Jack LOOKS 40, but he's MEANT to be a ten-year-old. What ten-year-old tries to cop a feel, flirt with his friend's mom, or contemplate about the meaning of life? It's out-of-character and dreadfully forced.
Are there any good things about Jack? Slightly, yes. It's far from being a great performance, but Robin Williams is able to bring his usual charm to the bland role of Jack. The ending speech, by far, had to be his best moment in the film. The editing's decent enough, from what I recall, and the film knows how to manipulate a scene into an emotionally gut-wrenching moment. Finally, I did appreciate the film's overall message - stay young at heart and don't let the world take your soul. "Look to the stars", Jack says, and everything will be alright.
The film's got a great message, but Jack's pathetic characters and awful humor keep it in the category of a bad movie.
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