Movies Reviews

Jack Goes Boating – Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Sep 17, 2010, 16:03 GMT

Jack Goes Boating is a tale of love, betrayal, friendship and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples. The film stars John Ortiz (American Gangster), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Broadway’s "Rent"), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote), with Hoffman making his feature directorial debut. Bob Glaudini ("A View From 151st Street") adapted his acclaimed Off Broadway play for the screen. Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Connie (Amy ...more

Nothing new here, just four highly polished performances, a kiss and a tear at the end, and black ink on the bottom line.

After his smashing performances and executive producer credits in “Capote,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Doubt” and many others, Philip Seymour Hoffman tries his hand at directing. The result is a very positive thumbs up. He is no Woody Allen but what he lacks in comedic brilliance he makes up in sincerity.

“Jack Goes Boating” is the screen adaptation of Robert Glaudini’s well-received off-Broadway play, produced by LAByrinth Theatre Company. The film version brings back Hoffman, Ortiz and Rubin-Vega who starred in the stage play.

They were born to make this film together. The on-screen chemistry is so intense it is startling. Add Amy Ryan (druggy mom in “Gone Baby Gone”) to the mix and a smash hit is born.

The film features two couples. One is on the verge of starting a romantic relationship and the other is on the verge of ending one. This is a story of four marvelously well-defined life trajectories.

Two know how to love but hate each other. Two love each other but cannot figure out what love is. The film manages to study human attachment and estrangement at the same time. A powerful combination and remarkable success.

Hoffman has most of the screen time as Jack, a lonely limo driver who does not know how lonely he is. The film is set in New York City and the cinematography is straightforward NYC backgrounds, the garish frigidity of the winter streets dares occupants to show the least sign of softness or vulnerability.

The genius of the film is that Hoffman takes the role of the limo driver and turns it into an essay on life in the big city. Or perhaps a satire on sex in the big city. As near as we can tell, Jack has never had sex. In fact, he may have only a dim idea of what it is. He is not portrayed as traumatized; he simply is removed from human normalcy by the general chaos of life around him.

His goal in life is to get a job with the MTA. This would be either a bus or subway driver. We are not told. We do not need to know. This is a city dweller of limited horizons. Kayaking in Patagonia is not on his agenda.

John Ortiz (Campos in “Fast and Furious”) plays Clyde, a taxi driver, Jack’s co-worker and best/only friend. Clyde is the polar opposite of Jack, having a sexy wife (Lucy--- Daphne Rubin-Vega), exemplary street smarts and the ability to get good brandy, hashish and cocaine on a taxi driver’s salary.

Life in New York is good for Clyde except that he does not seem to have the ability to love.

Lucy and Connie (Amy Ryan) work in a funeral parlor, mostly selling grief-counseling classes for the owner, Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob may or may not know how to handle grief but he definitely knows how to handle his female employees, fondling everybody in the place with a pulse.

Connie’s gender and attitude makes her prone to victimization. Lucy sets Connie up with Jack and a foursome is born. Yes, a Woody Allen set-up only lighter on the pratfalls and heavier on the feeling. Even with a few funny moments, this film reaches out to the audience and dares them to claim they cannot learn to be more intimate. It dares them to feel, again, what it is like to fall in love.

The screen time is almost entirely devoted to the four leads, occasional breaks to Thomas McCarthy’s portrayal of Dr. Bob excepted. McCarthy may get more laughs per line than anybody in the film as he ruptures his thin veneer of empathy with what turns out to be a monstrous load of pent up carnal angst.

The focus on the four main characters allows each of them to shine in the parts that three of them have practiced countless times before. The result is an elegant and powerful simplicity that blasts the messages of love and self-acceptance to the audience.

This is a great romantic comedy. If not heavy on the comedy, the romance is there. Who says New York is not the most romantic city in the world?

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Directed by: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Written by: Robert Glaudini (screenplay and play)
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz, Amy Ryan, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Release: September 17, 2010
MPAA: Rated R for language, drug use and some sexual content
Runtime: 89 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color