Review
KANGAROO JACK
Starring Jerry O’Connell, Anthony Anderson and Christopher Walken
Directed by David McNally
Opens Friday, January 17
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Kids can find at least five morals in Kangaroo Jack – black guys break the law, black guys never do anything right, hairdressers are probably gay, women are things to look at and touch (i.e. objectify), and human and camel farts are totally hilarious.
So it’s not really a great movie for kids. But there aren’t many cross-generational jokes, either. Most of the physical humour is too base for anyone who finished junior high.
The "story" revolves around Charlie (Jerry O’Connell), the adopted son of a gangster, and Louis (Anthony Anderson), the stereotypical black comic-relief character who always gets in trouble and talks funny. After drawing unwanted attention to his gangster stepdad (Christopher Walken), Charlie is sent to Australia with Louis for one final assignment: deliver $50,000 to "Mr. Smith," an Australian hit man. Charlie, being dumb as a dead wombat, doesn’t realize he’s the hitman’s target.
In Australia, Louis’s kangaroo jacket is put on what they think is a dead kangaroo. With the money in the jacket pocket, the kangaroo kicks Charlie in the chest, and, as Louis whines "Now he hoppin’away," the kangaroo does just that. Some sort of drawn-out hilarity ensues, taking us on a roller-coaster Power Rangers-esque episode of marsupial-chasing Outback high jinks (at the end, one kid at the theatre asked if the movie lasted three hours).
Although mindless, Kangaroo Jack isn’t entirely without merit. While the film won’t work for anyone over 12, it hits its young target audience dead on. So even though it reinforces a lot of bad ideas and stereotypes, kids will eat it up. Before the end credits stopped rolling, a little boy, enraptured, asked his dad, "Can we buy this movie?" Marketing at its finest. Filmmaking at its less-than-best. |
