Movie
Review | Kangaroo Jack
Reviewed by: Brian
Orndorf
Charlie (Jerry O’Connell, “Crossing Jordan“) is a hairstylist
who finds himself in continuous debt to his bumbling friend Louis
(Anthony Anderson, “Barbershop”), who saved him from drowning when
he was eight years-old. When one of Louis’s harebrained schemes gets
the two into hot water, they are sent to Australia to atone for their
sins by delivering fifty thousand dollars to a shady businessman.
While driving to the drop off point, the two hit a roaming kangaroo on
the road and promptly dress it up in Louis’s lucky jacket for photo
opportunities. When the kangaroo suddenly regains consciousness, he
takes off, with the jacket still on, and the fifty grand in one of the
pockets. With the help of a kangaroo tracker (Estella Warren,
“Driven”), Louis and Charlie must brave the deadly outback to get
their money back and restore honor to their names.
Approaching a film like “Kangaroo Jack” takes plenty of
patience and good will. Produced by the virtual Willy Wonka of
craptacular cinema, Jerry Bruckheimer (“Armageddon,” “Con
Air,“ “Pearl Harbor“), “Kangaroo Jack” is one of the
producer’s rare forays into family filmmaking. I’m happy to report
that “Jack” is a slick production - for a kid’s film at least -
and is free of the normal Bruckheimer excesses such as fire balls, and
commercial-ready cinematography. Directed by David McNally, who last
was seen helming another Bruckheimer disaster, “Coyote Ugly,”
“Kangaroo Jack” isn’t nearly the tragedy its exterior suggests.
It’s a bad film, no doubt, yet not a complete wash out.
The problems start with the generally unpleasant comedic delivery
of co-star Anthony Anderson, who has never met a punch line he
didn’t like to completely bleed dry of its funny. A bellowing,
rancid yuckster, Anderson simply turns up his usual deafening routine
a couple of notches so the kids can hear him clearly. He’s the clown
of the piece, but never a likeable one. We move on to the “fart
scene” staple of family entertainment, which now can be so clearly
calculated that I should start making bets on its appearance in each
new film. Of course, “Jack” doesn’t need this, but it did result
in the single largest laugh from the kids I attended this screening
with. So whom am I to question its validity? Finally, as with
Disney’s “Snow Dogs.” “Jack” has based its advertising
around scenes of a talking/rapping kangaroo, of which appears in only
two scenes (dream sequences) in the entire movie. It’s completely
fraudulent, but also insults the terrific work the computer animators
put into the kangaroo creation, as they try to merge authenticity with
cartoon. The kangaroo looks wonderful, but the rapping is
heartbreaking, and should clearly not be the focus of the film.
Yet, in trying to see past the useless story conceits (Italian
mobsters in the Outback?), paycheck acting (Christopher Walken appears
briefly as Charlie’s father-in-law), and, well, critically unfunny
material (almost anything with Anderson), there are brief moments of
pleasure to be found. Jerry O’Connell is one of those bright spots,
refraining from his usual overacting, and simply letting Anderson go
nuts for a laugh. O’Connell is funnier this way, and it helps the
movie greatly to have at least one cast member who isn’t yelling all
the time. Also, model Estella Warren puts in a reasonable performance
in the tracker role. In the long, headache-inducing pantheon of
model-to-actress transitions, Warren is near the top of the heap.
“Jack” doesn’t offer much for her to work with, but she’s a
pleasant surprise in a gloriously unsurprising film.
As much as I could (or should) trash “Kangaroo Jack,” there are
just too many minuscule good things within the film for it to be a
completely deflating experience. The kids might love it, and any
chance to soak up Australian beauty is welcomed, but there just
isn’t enough hop in the ’roo to hold appeal for very long.
Grade: 4/10
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