Subscribing to his usual form of slapstick humour, Adam Sandler churns out yet another crowd pleaser with his latest movie, Jack and Jill. Playing twins Jack Sandelstein – a successful advertising executive living in glitzy Los Angeles, with a beautiful wife (played by Katie Holmes) and two kids – and Jill, a single lady living alone in the Bronx. Jack’s life would have been perfect, were it not for the one event he dreads every year – when his twin sister comes to visit and stay over for the Thanksgiving holidays. Somehow, a slew of disasters seem to follow Jill wherever she goes, which only intensifies the distaste Jack has for his sister (which he has for her since they were “womb mates”). However, the dislike appears one-sided, as sister Jill has an (most of the time) overwhelming, smothering love for him.

In portraying Jill, Adam Sandler employed and sometimes overplayed certain female stereotypes, such as the tendency to collapse into hysterics during moments of high emotion for comic effect, and for extra laugh-inducing measure, introduced some undesirable traits in Jill, reminiscent of the more catty and obnoxious characters from the movie Bridesmaids.

To counterbalance Jill’s histrionics, Sandler’s straight man Jack is your average family man, whose sanity is put to the test by his twin sister’s unwelcome disruption into his otherwise normal life.

Though the Adam Sandler double vision took some getting used to, there were some genuinely funny moments in the movie, helped along by Al Pacino’s portrayal of himself, albeit a wonky, slightly unhinged manner.

A heartwarming family movie, it could have been better if the other characters in the movie were fleshed out and not so two-dimensional. However, Adam Sandler fans would probably enjoy his familiar brand of slapstick humour.

 

Movie: Jack And Jill
Rating: 3/5
Opens: Jan 19
Duration: 91 minutes
Language: English
Age Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Cast: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino