'Jack and Jill' – 0 out of 5 stars
There are rare times in films when not only do you feel physically ill, but you also feel as if the world is tumbling down because you sat through so much epic failure. This feeling is exactly what Adam Sandler’s latest disappointing feature “Jack and Jill” induces.
There is no doubt that Adam Sandler is a great talent and a comedic legend along the fold of Eddie Murphy, George Carlin and Richard Pryor. His outlandish, crazy and stupidly endearing characters have become stuff of comedic lore over the past 20 years. This is why his fans deserve more than his lazy and totally disengaging portrayal of fraternal twins Jack and Jill Sadelstein.
The main point of this movie is extremely simple: hate your sister for 88 out of the 90 minutes of the film — to the point of hitting her with a chair — and then have the epiphany that you must tolerate her bumbling, awkward nature for the good of Hanukkah. This film’s lack of direction was reflected in its poorly conceived and executed plot taken from countless sibling rivalry films. As far as the supporting actors go, Al Pacino was by far the most game and entertaining person in his portrayal of a crazy, cellphone-hating version of himself. His infatuation and conversations with Jill are the funniest scenes of the film because the brought an actual rapport with one another. It wasn’t silly or vile; it was genuinely hilarious. If Pacino stays focused and committed to every role he plays from now on, he will add to his legacy.
Unfortunately, Pacino couldn’t be present for enough scenes to save this underwhelming mess of a film. This is the latest of a string of disappointing films for Sandler, who on his best day can make very funny characters for very funny films. Sadly, “Jack and Jill” shows that without direction, Sandler falls on weak stereotypes that have not only stopped being funny, but have begun to damage his legendary career.
