Forumrxes
Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.
Prismark10
I heard a story about the making of the film Kangaroo Jack. It was a dark story about mobsters putting out a hit on two young dudes who have been sent to the Australian outback who then inadvertently run over a Kangaroo.Test audiences were rather negative about the film but the feedback was that it could do with more kangaroo scenes and more comedy and the film was reshot, recut and marketed as a silly action comedy.Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren star in Kangaroo Jack with a cameo from Christopher Walken and an early appearance by Michael Shannon.Charlie Carbon (O'Connell) and Louis Booker (Anderson) became best buddies when Booker saved Carbon from drowning when he was a kid. Since then Booker has always got Carbon in trouble and in the latest escapade, both end up in trouble with Carbon's stepfather (Walken) a local mobster.To make amends they are sent to Australia to deliver a package but when they run over a kangaroo and put on a jacket on it to take pictures. The kangaroo revives and runs off wearing the jacket and with the package in the pocket. Before long they are being pursued by the people who were due to receive the package and Walken send some goons down under as well.Its actually undemanding fun and I rather enjoyed it. Its a silly romp, O'Connell and Anderson spark off each other, Warren is very appealing and the kangaroo provides the bounce.
Steve Pulaski
Kangaroo Jack seriously has me torn. Torn between my childhood love for the film and my current thoughts on it. Years ago, this was one of my favorite films. I watched it various times, and for some reason, couldn't get enough of it. This was also the first film that spawned my love for Anthony Anderson. He sort of reminded me of a new age Chris Farley character. He had no limits, and he was always lovable in his presentation.My thoughts on the film has slightly changed since my last viewing, roughly three years ago. My view on the film didn't change as much as when I rewatched Hey Arnold!: The Movie having not seen it in x amount of years, but it didn't stay the same like it did when I rewatched Good Burger.Still, it's difficult to hate a film so lively and amusing. It revolves around Jerry O'Connell's Charlie, a hair stylist barely making end's meet at his current salon and Anthony Anderson's Louis as his slow-witted, dopey accomplice. After a deal gone completely wrong, Charlie's stepfather Salvatore Maggio (Walken) tells both of them to take a plane to Australia and deliver a confidential package to a man named "Mr. Smith" in the Australian Outback.Even after being told not to open the package, Louis opens it to reveal over $50,000 in Benjamin Franklins. Upon arrival to Australia, by accident, Charlie runs over a kangaroo and believes to have killed it. Louis gets the bright idea to put his red Brooklyn jacket, with the money, on the kangaroo after recognizing the beast as "Jackie Legs." The kangaroo turns out to be alive and hops away with the jacket and the money, leaving both Charlie and Louis hopeless, desperate, and pessimistic of the consequences if Sal finds out.I recently mentioned in my review of Three Amigos that the fish out of water premise rarely works. Here, it doesn't break a whole lot of new ground, yet it doesn't make a game out of humiliating the outsiders like many other films of the genre do. Also, the Outback scenery is fantastic with the rusty colored sand and the heat of the desert is captured with pure realism. This is the case where a kid's movie goes a bit beyond expectations.Yet, it goes below expectations with some of the kiddy jokes. Case and point, the camel scene. Unnecessary and not funny. It furthers my thoughts that Hollywood, sometimes, compiles the lowest common denominator of childish entertainment and throws the scattered, messy bag into a film.The film redeems itself by offering characters we'd probably like if they were realistic, and brings above average backstory to its plot. I don't think I've seen a kid's film recently that had as much story focus on the character's lives since Kangaroo Jack.Now comes the inevitable kangaroo, which is the least impressive thing in the film. The kangaroo is odd, and even stranger when he speaks. His lips move in a very odd manner, and his movements are very unnatural. When he jumps, due to the sketchy technology at the time (also present in Ang Lee's Hulk, released the same year) the sound seems to break as if a strong, abrupt wind is blowing by. It's odd, but doesn't happen often. I think the most haunting scene involving the marsupials is when Charlie has a hallucination with several characters voicing several other kangaroos. Even at the end when Jackie Legs says goodbye it comes off as unappealing, and we're glad to be rid of such a peculiar character.Director David McNally also tries to pay homage to the film many of us refer to as "wet, young, voluptuous women bar dance on a table for about an hour and a half. Of course I'm talking about Coyote Ugly, one of his earlier works. The scene involves Estella Warren showering under a waterfall. The scene is very tame and is likely to go unnoticed. It's no worse than the subtleties in shows like Rugrats or Spongebob Squarepants.Kangaroo Jack has a heart, but sometimes it gets too rambunctious with its immaturity. Its strange protagonist doesn't help matters, but its sufficient plot, steady characters, and fantastic scenery do. It's a cheery, entertaining film. Sometimes, that's good enough for the kids. But maybe not so much for the adults.Starring: Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken, and Michael Shannon. Directed by: David McNally.
TheLittleSongbird
I wasn't really expecting much watching Kangaroo Jack and I got more or less what I was expecting. It is not a terrible film as such, just very bland and too silly for my tastes. It has some good points, the scenery is lovely and the soundtrack is decent. Kangaroo Jack is what makes the movie, he isn't in much but he is amusing when he appears. The rest ranges from adequate to poor. The human actors are simply not very good, their characters are bland while Estella Warren can't act and Jerry O'Connell is annoying. The writing throughout is very weak, with the humour either too childish for adults or going over children's heads. The story is thin and very idiotic with the ending particularly too stupid for words. The editing could've been much smoother too. All in all, good kangaroo, not so good a movie. 4/10 Bethany Cox
hung_fao_tweeze
I was fooled by the packaging. I expected the movie to be about a kangaroo. It was - but just barely. I even thought it would be about a talking kangaroo. It was - but only for a moment. It was advertised as fodder for kids. Well, it tends to remain in the general audience vein with brief strays into light-hearted sexual innuendo. No, here the kangaroo is simply incidental to the actual story which isn't that compelling to start with. It is mostly a CGI kangaroo and not always a very good one. When the animal is actually on the screen it tends to almost be annoying because it tends to come across as a commercial. Sort of like .... meanwhile, here is what the kangaroo is doing. It breaks up the storyline with somewhat lame attempts at the kangaroo trying to be funny. Completely unnecessary. As for the story - it could have actually been a good Mafia-lite film in a way. The resulting revelation about the purpose of the kangaroo hijacked envelope of money was the most interesting part of the film. There are some amusing sequences but nearly none have anything to do with the kangaroo. Why was the kangaroo billed as the star? I don't know. Even as the film ends the kangaroo soliloquies that he is the star and finally gets to performing in the way I originally thought the film was going to convey. By the end of the film I felt somewhat betrayed. I was waiting for a kangaroo that never really happened.
