Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writers:

David Franzoni (story)
David Franzoni (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A Dangerously Funny Movie

Plot:

Terry works for a bank, and uses computers to communicate with clients all over the world. One day she gets a strange message from an unknown source...

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Computer | Telephone Booth | KGB | Apartment

Cast

Whoopi Goldberg	...	Terry Dolittle
Stephen Collins	...	Marty Phillips
John Wood	...	Jeremy Talbott
Carol Kane	...	Cynthia
Annie Potts	...	Liz Carlson
Peter Michael Goetz	...	James Page
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Archer Lincoln
Sara Botsford	...	Lady Sarah Billings
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Mark Van Meter (as Jeroen Krabbe)
Vyto Ruginis	...	Carl
Jonathan Pryce	...	Jack
Tony Hendra	...	Hunter
Jon Lovitz	...	Doug, 1st National Bank
Phil Hartman	...	Fred, 1st National Bank (as Phil E. Hartmann)
Lynne Marie Stewart	...	Karen, 1st National Bank

Also Known As:

Knock, Knock (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min | West Germany:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #27449)

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Lawrence Gordon Productions

Trivia:

Kellie Martin's film debut.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Terry's apartment was broken into and Marty comes to her door, you see her door with the broken, fully engaged chain locks hanging on the inside of her door. If her apartment was broken into when she was not home, the locks would not have been engaged and both ends would be undamaged during a break in. The same thing is again shown when Lady Sara shows at her door to provide an exit key for Jack and she tries to tuck it into the door.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Male Broadcaster: [click] ... House has issued a series of clarifications of several of the President's statements at his nationally televised news conference last night. In addition to responding to a question about abortion with a three-minute answer about taxes and confusing his Attorney General with his Chief of Staff...

Movie Connections:

References Mighty Mouse Meets Deadeye Dick (1947)

Soundtrack:

Sabre Dance

Jack-in-a-box personality...

This is a star vehicle if ever there was one, so much so that the other characters barely even register on the scale. Like they did with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy before her, Hollywood took the broad outline of Whoopi Goldberg's stand-up persona and tried to craft a movie around it. I suppose they figured she'd already proved her dramatic capabilities in "The Color Purple", so staying close to her roots next time around for a possible cash-in was worth it. Whether you are endeared to this almost cut and paste approach depends largely on if you find appeal in her and her act, or not. I do, so I'm not troubled that so much of the focus is on just one person for so long.

There's the usual 80's stock plot about spies and secret dealings, but really that's just a front to see if Goldberg can establish a wacky character and manage to keep the audience interested in following her journey until the end of the film. If that's the sum total of your expectations for this movie, then I'd say that all concerned accomplish their task rather well.

Roger Ebert complained that her character is a loner who doesn't interact properly with others. In this case, there is a definite reason why she was forced into such a narrow pigeonhole - it's so there's little chance that one of her co-stars may inadvertently steal her thunder. There's no fear of that, this is a one woman show throughout, but to me she proved that she's got the tools to headline a movie all by herself, and still be funny. Sisters are doing it for themselves.