Jack and Jill (2011) – Review

Where to watch Jack and Jill

1 1/2 Stars

The newest Adam Sandler vehicle cast the popular comedian in dual roles. Playing both a male and female character, Sandler goes the route of other comedians like Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Dustin Hoffman in playing a homely woman. However in this instance his alter-ego Jill is a Jewish New Yorker prone to negativity and constant befuddlement with technology and Southern California culture. Sandler speaks in a nasally high pitch that recalls the voice he used on his platinum selling comedy album They’re All Going to Laugh at You back before he was a movie star.

The story is the usual sentimental nonsense and inconsistent tone one comes to expect from the yearly Sandler offering. Jack and Jill is a frustrating film in that it asks us to laugh at a character for 80 minutes then it turns and wants our sympathy for said character. It can’t have it both ways. After a string of really quality outings starting with Zohan and continuing onto Just Go With It I had bright hopes for this holiday themed family comedy. Those were quickly dashed after a disastrous opening twenty minutes that fails to produced a single chuckle.

In addition the subdued Sandler schtick under the PG rating has worked before to better effect in Bedtime Stories. Here he seems distracted, even uninvested and when the film’s entire third act takes place aboard a large cruise ship, one begins to wonder if this whole production is a way to finance a vacation for Sandler and his pals. The bottom of the barrel for the SNL vet and his fans.

Director: Dennis Dugan
Stars: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino