Jack and Jill Review

I would love to sit in on the pitch meeting for the new Adam Sandler vehicle “Jack and Jill.” Well, perhaps love isn’t the word I’m looking for. More like curious and then stunned at what I see.

“Hey, so how about for my next movie I play a crabby/cocky advertising producer and at the same time play my twin sister in drag. Oh! And she can be obnoxious and annoying, and mess things up but also really care about Jack and his family.”

“Why that’s perfect! And we can call it ‘Jack and Jill,’ it’s catchy! And then we can throw in as many celebrities as we can. We’ll start with Al Pacino. He can play a main part as himself being romantically obsessed with Jill and he can take shots at himself too.”

“Oh, I don’t think he would do that.”

“I bet he would with the right amount of money, I mean have you seen the last few movies he’s done? Then we can get Johnny Depp, Regis Philbin, and Drew Carey. Even Jared from Subway.”

“Alright! and don’t forget about Nick Swardsden and David Spade and all the other regulars who inhabit my Happy Madison movies. I think they need the work too.”

Directed by long-time Sandler filmmaker Dennis Dugan,“Jack and Jill” isn’t so much an Adam Sandler movie as it is a parody of an Adam Sandler movie. Like the kind of thing you would see on “Saturday Night Live,” or on “Family Guy.” The movie is scripted by Steve Koren, however I highly doubt that he was the only one working on it. When Zook turned in the first draft Sandler and his team of ten producers must have dissected the hell out of it, not caring about fluency or logic. The movie is a continuous string of sitcom gags. Jill making a fool of herself at the movies, Jill trying to ride a children’s horse, Jill having to go to the bathroom after eating too much Mexican food.  

There are emotional parts to it but it’s very difficult to take Sandler’s schtick seriously.

Then there’s Pacino. On one hand I suppose he should be commended for making a fool of himself. The funniest scene in the whole movie came when he alludes to the fact that he has somehow only won one Oscar. On the other hand, you can’t help but be embarrassed by him, like when he snuggles up to a sweat stain left by Jill on her bed. Michael Corleone everyone!

Overall though, this is the most interesting role Pacino has had in years and that’s incredibly sad. Here’s to hoping that he does well in the upcoming John Gotti biopic and that Sandler and Dugan get put on filmmaking probation from for a while.