spencer-w-hensley This movie is to Francis Ford Coppola's directing resume what Always was to Steven Spielberg's in the sense you can't believe this movie was directed by a cinematic genius, as it has the feel of a made-for- TV movie. To some extent Coppola should be blamed. Aside from directing some of the all-time greats "Godfather 1&2" and "Apocalypse Now", he himself is a talented writer with "Patton" and "The Godfather" screenplays. So he should have known this script wasn't worthy of his enormous talent, and should have made suggestions on how to improve it. The man is a genius, surely that's the least he could have done. You also can't fault him to some extent, however as he has said he only made this film to work with Robin Williams. I can see his desire for that. Williams was a genius in front of the camera just the same as Coppola is behind it. But why didn't he direct "The Birdcage" which came out around the same time and had a much better use of Robin Williams' talent? Coppola can direct comedy successfully "Peggy Sue Got Married" is a wonderful film. He knows what is funny and what works and what doesn't. It's rumored Coppola told Williams he wanted to work with him and when Williams got the screenplay for Jack he would only do it if Coppola agreed to direct it. But was Coppola really that desperate to work with Williams as to direct him in a so-so movie? Surely he could have suggested he and Williams team up for something far more worthy of their amazing talents. Jack has some sweetness that is appealing and not to be ignored, and the acting is decent overall. Coppola at least directs most of his actors well except for the obnoxious Fran Drescher in a supporting role. What in the world is Fran Drescher doing in a Francis Ford Coppola movie? Many Oscar winning actresses would have been proud to work with the genius behind The Godfather and Apocalypse Now even for a small supporting role and he gets one of (if not) the most obnoxious comedienne's of her era for the part. Why not go for Marisa Tomei, or Julia Roberts, or even the director's sister Talia Shire for the same part? He might as well have directed Roseanne Barr in the same role. Coppola is too talented to direct someone as bad at acting as Drescher. The rest of the cast including Coppola favorite Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin, Jennifer Lopez and Bill Cosby all do fine in their roles and give good performances, but they are not given anything special or memorable or even funny from a wasted script. Coppola doesn't even know how to direct Williams to do anything special. Williams plays a ten year old, but he doesn't act like one, he essentially just plays himself. If this movie is about him as a ten year old he should at least act like one and Coppola should have been able to direct him as such. Tom Hanks did the same thing wonderfully almost a decade earlier in Big where he was directed by Penny Marshall also a talented director but not even on the same level of talent as Coppola. Also Coppola makes the mistake at times of letting his movie turn into bad outtakes from a Farrely Brothers movie. I mean farting, eating gross-out stuff, and ten year old boys looking at porn magazines. The Farrely's can get away with that because that is their signature trademark, the same just can't be said about one of the cinema's all time great director's. Jack is not without it's charm, though it really is sad that the great Francis Ford Coppola wouldn't wait to direct Robin Williams in a much better movie. The result is a movie that tries and occasionally succeeds, but should have been a masterpiece with the star and director attached. Hopefully all involved enjoyed working with Coppola enough to ignore the fact that this is a mediocre, mostly forgettable film, and unless I see a worse early Coppola directing effort, the worse film of the great director's work. Godfather III is on par with it's far superior predecessors as far as Coppola's work goes compared to Jack.

studioAT 'Jack' as a film is almost as confused as the central character. Although touted on the back of the DVD box as being a 'family comedy', its humour sometimes means it's anything but.It's shining light without doubt is Robin Williams. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role really. He manages to capture the childish side of Jack perfectly,while also portraying the inner struggle well too. Sadly the film never seems to know what it wants to be (Comedy? Drama?)and a fine performance gets lost in the middle.My big flaw with the film apart from the tone is the length. It does go on a bit. There's a whole 20 minute section in which nothing really happens to drive the plot.But then, just as you're about to give up on it, the ending is great. Funny, moving, not overly sentimental,it's a lovely moment.With sharper editing and a sense of focus 'Jack' could be up there with Robin Williams' best work but sadly it never quite lives up to potential.

Christian_Dimartino When you've won as many Oscars as Francis Ford Coppola has, Jack is not the type of movie that you make. Coppola, whose resume includes The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Peggy Sue Got Married, has won five Oscars, and if you look back to all of those films mentioned,it just proves what a gift he has. But God only knows what went through his mind as he directed Jack.Robin Williams plays the title character, a 10 year old who ages 4 times faster than usual, so he looks like Robin Williams. After being home schooled for 10 years, he finally persuades his parents (Diane Lane and Brain Kerwin) to let him go to public school. Of course, he is judged, but with the help of his teacher (Jennifer Lopez), he tries to win them over.It seems as if after Coppola directed Apocalypse Now, he had become possessed by some sort of film demon. Sure, he directed good movies after that, but for every Peggy Sue Got Married there was The Outsiders. Watching this movie feels like you're waiting for a flight that is never going to arrive.Clocking in at nearly 2 hours, Jack is a monstrosity of many proportions. All of the actors here feel trapped. The premise alone is sort of creepy, and you can't tell whether or not this movie is trying to be My Left Foot or a Robin Williams comedy. Williams has way too much talent for this. It's a movie that never really lets him spread his wings. He's bored, and we are too.Also, the movie is just plain gross, and in ways that I would rather not release to others. The dialogue is head-achingly corny, and it doesn't stop. There's also no real purpose here. all this movie wants from us is to feel pity for this guy. I feel pity for him all right... but his name is not Jack. His name is Robin, and I also pity someone named Diane, someone named Jennifer, and someone named Francis at the root of all evil. This is one of the strangest, nastiest, and flat out worst movies of all time.F

jplatten I watched ten minutes of this and felt pretty sick.There have been documentaries on this subject on television of real children that are actually interesting, sad and happy by turns in the real world. What got into people to make such a thing is beyond me. This is the worst kind of sentimental mawkishness and a thoroughly sick and bad idea irrespective of the intentions. I think if we can have a film about marching penguins, or more seriously the columbine massacres shown at the cinema its about time we were able to face an actual documentary about a child with this condition instead of this horrible, horrible proxy for one.By the way... The central conceit that children with this syndrome look like Robin Williams is so very far off beam. In actuality they are the same height as normal children with an adult facial appearance and other attributes. (I know from a made for TV documentary that did this whole thing PROPERLY) This film is a total travesty. Only in America! If you are a buyer for a TV company: I am sure you can find the documentary I watched instead if you really try. Show that instead.