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Reviews - Reuters
TV Review: Jack Thu Jun 17, 8:35 PM ET
By Ray Richmond
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter)
Here is what Showtime considers a cool Father's Day movie: A man leaves his wife for the arms of his new boyfriend, devastating and confusing his 15-year-old son. And here's the kicker: Showtime telecasts "Jack" under the "Showtime Original Pictures for All Ages" banner.
I see this as rather bold and admirable, since this lovingly crafted and extremely well-acted flick really does wind up being perfectly appropriate for pretty much any age despite the dicey subject matter. It underscores just how far we've come in what it's permissible to show at 8 o'clock on a Sunday night.
Told through the eyes of its tortured, bushy-haired 15-year-old protagonist, "Jack" stars Stockard Channing (news) and Ron Silver (news) as Anne and Paul. Their marriage is coming apart at the seams for reasons that will soon become apparent, to the great chagrin of their lone child, Jack (superb work from Anton Yelchin). Jack is one of those teens whose observations are oft marinated in hefty doses of sarcasm and irony. He takes pretty much everything personally and to heart, as most 15-year-olds do. So he's devastated when his father -- his hero -- moves out of the house and begins taking him to a series of fancy dinners sprinkled with empty conversation.
Then one fine day while relaxing on a lake, Paul comes out to Jack: He's gay and has taken up with new guy pal Bob (Paul McGillion). Jack, whose character serves as our occasional narrator, responds by leaping into the water. He's confused, revolted and panicky at the thought of his dad turning queer on him. It doesn't help that his chain-smoking mom, who suddenly already has a new boyfriend herself, acts as Dad's apologist.
Paul tries to get back into Jack's good graces, even bribing him into get-togethers by inviting along Maggie (Britt Irvin), a girl at school upon whom Jack has a crush. It turns out that Maggie's got secrets, too, making Jack feel like the whole world truly is coming unglued. He takes solace in his quirky best friend, Max (Giacomo Baessato), and Max's supposedly perfect family (including a mom he idolizes, played by Wendy Crewson). But as Jack is soon to realize, everything is rarely as it appears on the surface. It's a lesson he will learn all too well.
All of the actors here acquit themselves splendidly, especially Yelchin and the always superb Channing and Silver. The screenplay from A.M. Homes (based on Homes' own novel) is packed with realistic dialogue that's only occasionally pat, while Lee Rose directs with style and a noninvasive touch. It would be easy to nitpick and say that there's too much going down here -- and things are moving far too quickly -- to be fully believable. That is no doubt true.
Even so, "Jack" proves to be a heartfelt, compelling piece of work.
A Daniel L. Paulson/Susan Rose/Ellen M. Krass production.
Cast: Anne: Stockard Channing; Paul: Ron Silver; Jack: Anton Yelchin; Vernon: Brent Spiner (news); Michael: Amdrew Airlie; Steve Burka: Erich Anderson; Elaine Burka: Wendy Crewson; Max: Giacomo Baessato; Maggie: Britt Irvin; Bob: Paul McGillion; Sammy: Ryan Drescher; John Rogers: Jano Frandsen.
"Always forgive your enemies...nothing annoys them quite so much." Oscar Wilde
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