I was extremely surprised to find out that Francis Ford Coppola directed this film, not because it's below the standards I expect from him, but because it is really well directed. It's rare that a movie can be so well directed and so bad at the same time. It's hard to pinpoint the exact problem here, until you realize it's all in the writing: moreover, the story. Robin Williams does everything he can for this character, and the story does not reciprocate. The entire cast is a success, in fact. I generally loathe child actors, but these ones are almost believable; Jennifer Lopez nailed a lot of nuanced beats and really surprised me; Bill Cosby was incredibly endearing, despite all of his horrible crimes. The shots and storytelling behind the camera, save for a couple janky inserts, is effective. Yeah, the more I think about it, the clearer this case of bad writing becomes. Not a bad premise, but the execution is hit or miss at best and the ending is woefully dissatisfying. All I needed to know is what he wrote for that essay, but we didn't get it. What a shame.
Review of Jack
