|
Jack (1996)
Starring Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez, and Bill Cosby. Cinematography by John Toll. Edited by Barry Malkin. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Fuchs, and Ricardo Mestres. Written by James DeMonaco and Gary Nadeau. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Jack (played by Robin Williams) is a ten year old boy afflicted with an unusual disorder (actually a nonexistent disorder, but don’t give up yet). He ages four times faster than a normal person and so after only a decade of life he looks as if he should be reaching his mid-life crisis. Because of this unusual condition, his parents (played by Diane Lane and Brian Kerwin) have chosen to keep him separated from children his own age fearing that they would reject and hurt him.
But Jack starts to notice the kids playing outside and pressures his parents to allow him leave his home. So with the blessing of the family psychologist (played by Bill Cosby), Jack is sent off to school where he will make friends, discover girls, and become the best damn center in the history of fourth grade basketball.
When Francis Ford Coppola was nine years old he was stricken with a case of polio. His entire left side was paralyzed, leaving him confined to a bed. Because the polio virus is contagious, and potentially deadly, Coppola was quarantined from his friends and siblings. He spent nearly a year completely removed from kids his age.
Years later, when he read the screenplay for Jack, he was able to relate to Jack’s loneliness and longing for companionship. Though he had little involvement pre-production process, Coppola felt that this was still a very personal project considering the level of empathy he felt with the title character.
Many considered a live action Disney film to be a strange choice of projects for Coppola, and frankly it is. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its merits, but overall it is a fairly anonymous job for the legendary director. There is precious little of the on screen magic that one can usually expect from a Coppola film.
As for Robin Williams, who performs in a role that was written specifically for him, he comes off pretty convincing as a ten year old kid trapped in a forty year old body. He has perfected the sort of uncoordinated, uncomfortable, and fidgety mannerisms you would expect out of a kid that age; so in that arena the film is a success. But Jack was a success in the box office as well and profits from any film, regardless of the project, that help support Francis Coppola’s American Zoetrope dream is OK by us. So give the man some slack.
Budget: $45,000,000
Total US Gross: $58,617,334
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 113 Minutes
US Release Date: 8/9/96
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Awards: none
Tagline: He’s A Healthy Ten Year Old Who’s Growing Four Times Faster Than Normal. Now He’s About To Take On The Biggest Adventure Of His Life… 5th Grade.
Quote: “What do I want to be when I grow up? Alive.”
|
