Kangaroo Jack Review

There are quite a few films getting a release for the younger set in the coming weeks and the big bang producer of films like The Rock and Pearl Harbour, Jerry Bruckheimer has a crack at this lucrative market with Kangaroo Jack. Charlie Carbone, Jerry O'Connell, and his best buddy Louis Booker, Anthony Anderson, have been friends since childhood. Charlie's stepfather, Christopher Walken, is a mobster, and when the lads foul up he sends them on a mission to what one member of the mob refers to as "the sphincter of the galaxy" - Australia. Their mission is to deliver an envelope full of money to a Mr. Smith in Coober Pedy, but on the way they collide with a kangaroo. Thinking they've killed it, they pose for some gruesome pictures with the roo wearing Louis' jacket, when the creature revives and hops off with the money. This is a film aimed at young, undemanding audiences and for parents, especially Australian parents, it's likely to be something of an endurance. The fake-looking animatronic kangaroo is a charmless creation, the humour is strenuously unfunny, and the Australian supporting actors look faintly embarrassed by it all. The film's one point of interest is that it was all shot here; even the early car chase through what's supposed to be New York clearly happens in downtown Sydney. That doesn't make it a good film, but you do have a few moments of 'spot the familiar landmark.'