Jack And Jill Review

There are quite a few movies that Adam Sandler and director Dennis Dugan have done together in the past. While 'Grown Ups', 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry' and 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan' are most popular of them all, their last film together (Just Go with It) wasn't any great shakes. In fact Salman Khan starrer 'Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya', which was based on the same story, was a much better affair.

To think of it, possibilities were endless in case of a plot like the one seen in 'Jack and Jill' which is basically about a sister visiting her brother's family (with Sandler playing Jack as well his twin sister Jill). Now the brother isn't too keen to have his sister being around for a long period as she has her own whims and quirks that could embarrass any normal individual. However his wife (Katie Holmes) and two kids (Elodie Tougne and Indian import Rohan Chand) are fond of their aunt which means Jack has no other choice but to tolerate Jill's presence.

So Jill goes about trying to win the love of her brother as well even as Jack is busy in his own world to get a prestigious advertising campaign with none less than Al Pacino. While he tries to find blind dates for his sister to keep her engaged, much to his surprise she ends up catching a fancy of none other than Pacino himself.

Now with a set up like this, 'Jack and Jill' could have been one fun ride. However none of that happens as even slapstick moments don't really tickle your funny bone. Yes, there is a smile or two that does come on your face but such moments are so far and few that you only end up fast losing interest in the film.

Of course the screen lights up for most of the times whenever Pacino is around and contrary to popular perception, he isn't in a mere cameo here but has an extended supporting role here. In fact he is a riot during his theatre act, especially in the sequence where he takes a call from Sandler in front of a packed audience, hence making them wonder if he has moved tracks from Shakespeare to Godfather. Similarly there are moments of fun where Sandler gets into a cross dressing act to become Jill in front of Pacino. Though predictable, it is still enjoyable nonetheless.

However none of the sequences really go the whole hog. On the other hand the toilet humour is clearly overdone in the film which leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Pun intended!

Amongst actors, Sandler does well though he has been much better in his earlier efforts. As Jack he is hardly there in the film while as Jill, he doesn't quite raise chuckles the way one would have expected him to do. As for the other actors, they just pass muster. Katie is hardly there and same is the case with Nick Swardson (who plays Todd, Sandler's business partner).

Even from production values perspective, one hardly feels that this is a big film in the offering. Yes, there is a cruise sequence towards the latter half of the film but here too one misses the 'big screen' impact that could have been created. Moreover what hits the movie bad is the sheer predictability of the narrative. In the adage of 'all is well that ends well', this film too ends up making Jack realise the true worth of Jill, something that one could see coming from miles away.

All said and done, one expected 'Jack and Jill' to bring with it ton loads of entertainment. After all Sandler has been quite reliable in majority of his outings and with two of them around, one did expect double the fun. Sadly, that doesn't really turn out to be the case as the film ends up being not just predictable to the core but also hardly funny, something that only makes one sigh that even out there in West, there are successful director-actor combination that can get messed up at times.

Rating: **