Kangaroo Jack

• Directed by David McNally
• January 17, 2003 (US) / April 10, 2003 (Australia)

Two childhood friends get in trouble with the mob and are forced to deliver $50,000 to Australia, but things go from bad to worse when a wild kangaroo runs off with the mob’s money.

I honestly haven’t put Kangaroo Jack in for probably nearly 15 years. Judging by the dust that was on the top of the DVD case that amount of time may be a bit of an understatement. I recall enjoying it but having been so long specific details escaped me. What made me pop this in you might ask? I was walking by my collection and for some reason it just jumped out at me. Maybe the sunlight hit it just right. Maybe the dogs roughhousing dislodged it enough from its resting place that it stood out. Whatever the reason here we are.

The first thing that comes to mind is that Kangaroo Jack is SUPPOSED to be a family comedy. The second is that there is plenty in here that is NOT family material. From a scene on an airplane that implies to the passengers there are two people joining the Mile High Club to one of the characters copping a feel on what he thought was a mirage, this is not 100% kid safe.

Truthfully the title kangaroo is not really the star of the show. He gets his name by supposedly having a passing resemblance to a never seen individual known as ‘Jackie Legs.’ The quest to catch the kangaroo is not an issue. The need to make it a character when it is just an excuse for action is. There are some hallucinations that allow it to talk and a few moments where it is doing stuff that has NOTHING to do with the story. It was originally titled Down and Under and clearly aimed at a more adult audience based on elements that were left in. I guess they needed to replace the missing footage.

And the idea is corny or just simply bad. When has a comedy where the humans are outsmarted by an animal been good? It works as a one-time gag but fails as a plot. At least in comedy. You can milk it in a man vs nature story. Yet it transcends this and is actually good. Not great but good. Charlie Carbone (Jerry O’Connell) is the hairdresser stepson of mob boss Salvatore “Sal” Maggio (Christopher Walken) and after accidentally alerting the police to a warehouse full of stolen goods must take $50,000 to the wilds of Australia for mysterious reasons. Well not too mysterious. It sounds like our two main characters figure it out, but then forget about it right after they say something. Another indication of the change?

I would like to say something about Jerry O’Connell’s character but the best I can come up with is that he is a doormat not just for his pal but for everybody and everything in his life. And that is his entire defining characteristic. It is clear he hangs out with Louis (Anthony Anderson) over a sense of obligation because Louis saved Charlie’s life as a kid and keeps bringing it up.

Louis is the bumbling best friend of Charlie who always gets him in trouble and without whom we wouldn’t have much of a movie. Everything he does from the start just makes the situation worse. Especially putting his jacket on what he thinks is a dead kangaroo for a photo op. Who even does that? I cannot picture anyone hitting an animal on the road and then deciding that it’s a good idea to take pictures with it because that fresh animal corpse has a passing resemblance to somebody you know. But we wouldn’t have a movie if they were normal.

The animosity between Louis and Charlie grows. Louis has been guilting Charlie for at least two decades to be his friend because as children one day at the beach he saved Charlie. Charlie for his part has been bristling at the ‘friendship.’ By the end Charlie realizes that Louis didn’t just save his life that day at the beach but has saved his life every day since. All his best stories and favorite times are because of Louis. His life has ultimately been better because of his friend even if his friend causes problems. Weird lesson considering all the things that went into this.

The stunning Estella Warren (before she was known as bat shit crazy) shows up as Jessie-a member of the Outback Wildlife Foundation that helps Charlie and Louis look for this genius level kangaroo. She is little more than the movie’s eye candy but her performance is rather good. Despite her work in Tim Burton’s attempted reboot of Planet of the Apes where she was a little wooden as I recall, she’s pretty good here. Not Oscar worthy but good.

Christopher Walken excels rather easily in this as the mob boss Sal who married Charlie’s mom (Dyan Cannon). He’s not overly serious, but he’s serious enough that he feels genuinely dangerous. Maybe it’s talent. Maybe it’s his well-known real-life weirdness. Maybe he was in the mob at the time.

I just realized Dyan Cannon does not have a single line in this entire movie. While no great actress she is a recognizable name and to give her nothing or cut it all is an absolute waste. Not even a moment between her and Charlie. I dare say she is a forgotten character by the resolution. Charlie does not seem to care about her once he is on his new yacht.

I must point out that the CGI in Kangaroo Jack has held up pretty well over the years. The early 2000s were indeed a golden age for CGI much like the 80s were a golden age for practical effects. If you look close enough you can tell when CGI gets used but the two blend together nearly seamlessly as they should that discerning which requires serious effort. It is, well, convincing.

For what it is (or is supposed to be after the shift) it is very well done. There are numerous bits tossed into this that you cannot see how or if they will connect but by the end it all comes together. For as dumb as this is, it’s well-made. It shouldn’t work really on few if any level, but it does work on all levels. As themes go, aside from the message about friendship there’s not much else in this movie. It’s 90 minutes of entertainment.

Though not perfect Kangaroo Jack is a surprisingly enjoyable buddy comedy from 20 years ago. If you’ve never seen it, it’s certainly worth a watch. You will enjoy yourself. I don’t highly recommend it, but I do recommend it!