Learning a bit about the fast life with 'Jack'

By Achmad Nurhoeri

JAKARTA (JP): Carpe diem was the catch phrase when Robin Williams played a teacher in Dead Poet's Society. Now he's back with another bouquet of simple but contemplative notions in his latest film, Jack.

The plot is about a boy trying to get through his childhood years. The director is Francis Ford Coppola and the setting is a typical American suburb. Where does Robin Williams fit in? After successfully converting himself into an old nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire, no role is too difficult for Williams, including his role as 10-year-old Jack.

Hollywood has now come up with a theory that quadruples the speed of a human being's metabolism. But if we put logic aside and try a bit of Hans Christian Andersen, we can let our imaginations take over.

The story tees off with a Wizard of Oz twist. The pregnant witch of the west goes into premature labor in the middle of a 1980s Halloween party and her husband, the panicky tinman, drives her to the hospital. The couple is blessed with a baby bigger than a pumpkin and the sweaty tinman joyously names the gigantic baby boy Jack.

A team of doctors then arrives to explain to the couple that the speed of their baby's metabolism is four times faster than the normal rate. He was born when the mother was two months pregnant. The doctors predict that he will look like a 40-year- old by the age of 10.

Ten years later we see that the couple, photographer Mr. Powell (Brian Kerwin) and her wife name? (Diane Lane), have kept their hairy-chested boy Jack at a distance from his friends of the same age. Jack's only pal is his tutor what is character's name? (played by Bill Cosby).

'Freak'

Jack desperately wants to come out and play and become a regular 10-year-old kid, so the Powells finally agree to let Jack attend a normal school. He shaves and prepares himself, but on the first day he is called a freak by the other kids, who poke at him with a stick and laugh when the giant new kid breaks his tiny chair. Only his teacher Miss Marquez (played by the gorgeous Jennifer Lopez) is willing to have lunch with him.

But Jack's miserable days fade when a spunky kid called Louie asks him to play basketball. Jack subsequently becomes the Shaquille O'Neal of the fifth grade.

Jack's friendship with Louie deepens after Jack fools Louie's flirtatious mother (played by sexy Fran Drescher of the TV sitcom Nanny) and tells her that he is Louie's school principal. Jack saves Louie's skin by telling her that her son is doing well in school.

Jack eventually discovers the fun of having a 40-year-old's body. He becomes the Penthouse supplier for his friends, who admit him into their tree-house club. He turns out to be the guy everyone wants to be with. Life seems wonderful.

But Jack also feels an adolescent puppy love for his teacher. He asks Miss Marquez out for a dance and tells her: "I can't ask out girls of my age." When he kisses her on her lips, the surprised Miss Marquez responds with a painful "no". "I am your teacher and you are my student," she says, sending an arrow of rejection straight through his heart.

Rejection is painful for everyone, but for Jack the word has physical implications. It stimulates his metabolism and creates a heart problem of arterosclerosis. He is taken out of school and tutored. His adventures in the real world have accelerated his growth too much and Mom and Dad Powell, who never seem to grow old throughout the movie, are afraid to let him out again.

Sin

In an attempt to escape his agony, Jack takes off to a nightclub and mixes with the adult world of sin. After a long night out, Louie's mom has to come and bail him out of prison.

"I want to be a regular star," Jack says later to Cosby.

"You will never be a regular star. You are a shooting star. When you pass everyone stops and looks. You will never be regular... you are spectacular," says the wise-old tutor.

Meanwhile, Jack's friends miss his presence. Louie writes an essay about who he wants to be and says: "I want to be like my best friend Jack. He is never afraid about new things, never afraid to meet new people like adults are." An innocent statement that is truer than most of the adult logic we find in the world of motion pictures.

The typical Hollywood ending focuses on Jack's high school graduation speech. Coming from someone destined to have a short life span (the average American's life expectancy is 76), 17-year-old Jack brings out the spirit of life we all search for.

For Coppola worshipers, Jack lacks the dark atmosphere and the emotionally driven pace the director is famous for. But for Robin Williams fans, Jack is another superb film full of the gestures many have come to love since his TV series Mork and Mindy.

The best things in life are far from logical and Jack is best enjoyed with an open mind. If you let the kid in you out for a few hours, you too may begin to see that life is certainly a lot more spectacular when you have an attitude as fresh as Jack's.