Jack1996
Jack (1996)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Robin Williams' childlike energy is channeled in all the wrong places with Jack, a bizarre tragedy that aims for uplift but sinks deep into queasy schmaltz.
Jack Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Jack Powell
as Karen Powell
as Miss Marquez
as Lawrence Woodruff
as Dolores Durante
as Brian Powell
as Paulie
as Bartender

as Louis Durante
as Edward
as John-John
as George
as Johnny Duffer
as Phoebe

as Jane

as Victor
as Eric

as Angry Man
as Dr. Benfante
as Dr. Lin
as Poppy

as Principal McGee

as High School Principal

as Lucy

as Boy in Classroom

as Eric's Brother

as Mario

as Big Joe

as Kendra
as Allison

as Nurse

as Nurse

as Nurse

as Nurse

as Nurse

as Radio Personality

as Radio Personality

as Radio Personality

as Drugstore Clerk

as Officer at Jail

as Cat

as Cat
as Pack of Cigarettes
as Martini

as Louis (age 18)

as Edward (age 18)
as George (age 18)

as John-John (age 18)

as Johnny Duffer (age 18)

as Eric (age 18)

as Phoebe (age 18)

as Jane (age 16)
Critic Reviews for Jack
All Critics (35) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (29) | DVD (1)
The movie manages to transcend the material -- mostly because of Williams and his perpetually Morkian innocence -- and become a satisfying, occasionally maudlin tale of belonging, understanding the passage of time and living for the moment.

Someone deserves a timeout for letting this mawkish misfire get to the screen.

Williams works hard at seeming to be a kid inside an adult body, and some of his inspirations work well. But he has been ill-served by a screenplay that isn't curious about what his life would really be like.
Sometimes a movie just sucks.
On paper, scripting Robin Williams to act like a child might seem like a spectacular idea...
[The movie] ages four times its years.
Audience Reviews for Jack
Jack is one of Francis Ford Coppola's most mediocre outings as a director. The film had plenty of good potential of being a great film, but it falls flat and just ends up being mediocre. I thought the film started off well, but it just fell apart as the story progressed. The film could have been very good, but there's something missing to really make this standout. I felt that Robin Williams wasn't that great here, and he has made much better. Considering that such a great director as Francis Ford Coppola directed this, you'd expect a great film. But unfortunately this is among his worst films. Considering that he made The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, it's hard to imagine that Jack is a dud, but it is. Towards the ending, you simply can't wait for the film to end, and it just isn't memorable enough like so many other films. This film simply didn't deliver anything great; in the end it was boring, poorly crafted and overall mediocre. I didn't like this film, and I felt that due to its idea, it could have been so much better than what it turned out to be. Jack is not a film worth seeing, and like I've said, Coppola has done far better than this. This is not a film worth remembering and I think this on its own is a film that is underdeveloped and poorly constructed for dramedy. The film lacks anything great and it lacks any real moments where you end up caring for the characters. I just feel that this tried too hard delivering something sentimental, and ultimately failed.

Super Reviewer
Not the worst movie that I ever see, but the worst movie that Coppola could direct. Jack is the real end of the great filmmaker that made The Godfather. Rotten.
Super Reviewer
This movie has such a strange, unreal, outrageous premise, I can't decide whether it's horrible or incredibly interesting. Overall, it's just okay, I guess. Sort of another excuse for a grown man to act like a kid, I guess, and Williams knows how to do that.
Super Reviewer
Jack Quotes
Jack Powell: | I don't have very much time these days so I'll make it quick. Like my life. You know, as we come to the end of this phase of our life, we find ourselves trying to remember the good times and trying to forget the bad times, and we find ourselves thinking about the future. We start to worry , thinking, "What am I gonna do? Where am I gonna be in ten years?" But I say to you, "Hey, look at me!" Please, don't worry so much. Because in the end, none of us have very long on this Earth. Life is fleeting. And if you're ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky when the stars are strung across the velvety night. And when a shooting star streaks through the blackness, turning night into day... make a wish and think of me. Make your life spectacular. I know I did. |