2003, Warner Brothers Pictures
Live action
Rating: PG
Approx. 89 mins.
THE STORY:
Charlie (Jerry O'Connell) and his best friend, Lewis (Anthony Anderson), are sent to Australia on a mission for Charlie's mobster stepfather Sal (Christopher Walken), after the two cause trouble with the latter's business.
They are given an envelope containing $50 thousand to give to a Mr. Smith (Marton Csokas). Things soon go awry, however, when a kangaroo unexpectedly runs off with the money. Charlie and Lewis hit him with their car (as you do), and dress what they thought was a corpse up in Lewis' jacket (as you do) to take photos (as you do). When it turns out the kangaroo is not dead, and is considerably faster than the two men, they make various attempts to track him down and get back the money.
Along the way, they are aided by animal rescuer Jessie (Estella Warren), and hunted by hit-man Mr. Smith and Sal's right-hand man, Frankie (Michael Shannon), both of whom are out to kill them. Despite all odds, Charlie, Lewis and Jessie manage to outwit the villains and get back the envelope. The good guys prosper, and the bad guys pay for their crimes.
They are given an envelope containing $50 thousand to give to a Mr. Smith (Marton Csokas). Things soon go awry, however, when a kangaroo unexpectedly runs off with the money. Charlie and Lewis hit him with their car (as you do), and dress what they thought was a corpse up in Lewis' jacket (as you do) to take photos (as you do). When it turns out the kangaroo is not dead, and is considerably faster than the two men, they make various attempts to track him down and get back the money.
Along the way, they are aided by animal rescuer Jessie (Estella Warren), and hunted by hit-man Mr. Smith and Sal's right-hand man, Frankie (Michael Shannon), both of whom are out to kill them. Despite all odds, Charlie, Lewis and Jessie manage to outwit the villains and get back the envelope. The good guys prosper, and the bad guys pay for their crimes.
QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:
- Crap
- Stupid
- Shut up
- Hell
- Oh my God
- Damn
- Pansy ass retard (...yes, really)
VIOLENCE:
- hitting, punching, falling and the like
- shooting
- threatening actions and language
TEACHING POINTS:
- friends are precious
- if at first you don't succeed...
THE UPSHOT:
On the plus side, 2 things: Christopher Walken and the kangaroo special effects. It is pretty amazing how realistic the latter looks most of the time. Perhaps they spent so much of the budget on special effects that they couldn't afford decent writers or actors?
The makers of this film seem to have had a problem deciding who their target audience should be. They try to appeal to pubescent boys with a completely gratuitous wet T-shirt scene and other breast-centric scenes, but the story is so ridiculous that none but the pre-pubescent would buy it. The language, however, is too mature for the very young, and at times too offensive for anyone of any age (see above).
Knowing what I know now, I would not show this to my 5 year-old. I just can't get past the (what I consider) age-inappropriate aspects. I don't think she was damaged by watching it, but I don't think she gained anything either. The effects are impressive and there are humorous scenes, but she could have got that elsewhere with less of the negatives.
The makers of this film seem to have had a problem deciding who their target audience should be. They try to appeal to pubescent boys with a completely gratuitous wet T-shirt scene and other breast-centric scenes, but the story is so ridiculous that none but the pre-pubescent would buy it. The language, however, is too mature for the very young, and at times too offensive for anyone of any age (see above).
Knowing what I know now, I would not show this to my 5 year-old. I just can't get past the (what I consider) age-inappropriate aspects. I don't think she was damaged by watching it, but I don't think she gained anything either. The effects are impressive and there are humorous scenes, but she could have got that elsewhere with less of the negatives.
1.5/5
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