Jack (1996)
6/10
Not Original, But Sweet, Sentimental, and Entertaining.
2 May 2007
Many reviewers have compared this work to Tom Hanks's Big, wherein a young boy wishes he were "big," and the wish is granted. However, this work is the anti-thesis of that work, as an adult portrays a young child, physically, which thrusts Jack into the same venue as Martin Short's "Clifford," which was done some two years prior to this work.

That not withstanding, Clifford was a holy terror, while Jack is a mother's dream. While both works require a total suspension of belief in order to enjoy them, Jack is endearing, sweet, sentimental, and entertaining. There is nothing endearing, sweet, or sentimental about Clifford.

Jack is born with a genetic disorder which causes him to age 4 years for every 10, thereby causing him to appear as a 40 year old man at the age of 10.

Many have bludgeoned Coppola's involvement in such a scheme, citing his prior "masterpiece" works while bemoaning this one. The fans seem to forget that artistic people who do not spread their wings, and plant their feet on strange ground, never grow as individuals and artists.

Some found this work "insulting" due to the premise. It is called unintelligent. But not all films are based on intellect, and not all movie-goers care to have to think in order to enjoy a movie. And there is the added benefit of the heartwarming sentiment carried by this work.

It did well in the box office, nearly doubling its budget, worldwide, and is generally under-rated here at IMDb (if only mildly so), which says that word of mouth (that this film wasn't as bad as the critics said) carried this film further than the negative reviews would have liked.

It rates a 6.2/10 from...

the Fiend :.
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