JACK. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; written by James DeMonaco and Gary Nadeau; produced by Ricardo Mestres, Fred Fuchs and Francis Ford Coppola for Hollywood Pictures. Starring Robin Williams. Rated PG-13 (language, some adolescent sexual references)
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Remember that spate of movies a few years back that, through various circumstances, had boys being trapped in men's bodies? Well, the trend has a caboose in Jack and it's a shame they didn't save the best for last. But the best is still Big. And Jack isn't even a close second.
The circumstances that let Williams play a 10-year-old in a 40-year-old body are even less plausible than you might expect: we're told that he just ages 4 times the normal rate, with no attempt at an explanation. But that's not why the movie doesn't work. There have been much better movies with much wilder premises (James and the Giant Peach comes to mind, for one).
Jack's main problem is that it can't decide what to be, and that's usually a fatal flaw when it comes to movies. There are some scenes of preadolescent wackiness that are just that much wackier when one of the preteens looks 30 years older than the others.
But then there's the more dramatic side of Jack's story, which we see mostly through his mother's (Diane Lane) eyes. Her concerns and fears for her son, which make for moving drama, bring the comedy back down to earth with a thud.
There are a couple of minor characters that raise Jack's level of interest somewhat. Bill Cosby is Jack's private tutor and it's always fun to see him interacting with a group of kids. Although he seems curiously under-used here. And Fran Drescher is funny as the mother of one of Jack's young friends who, obviously, thinks Jack is as old as he looks. She overdoes the vamp act a little, but still manages to give us an entertaining and sympathetic character.
The lesson that Jack eventually learns is a worthy one, even for those of us with normal life spans: life is fleeting, so savor it while you can. But Jack, in spite of director Coppola's and Williams' reputations for originality, doesn't really bring anything new to this old saw. Rent Big, or even Coppola's own weirdly compelling Peggy Sue Got Married for a better evening's entertainmant delivering the same message.
September 11, 1996