I thought I knew what I was getting into with Jack Frost, and in a way I still did, but this film is pure bonkers. The synopsis alone is nuts but the execution is right up there. I only really chose this film, because I needed new Christmas films to watch, and I like Michael Keaton.
The best moments of the film are everything prior to the conversion, where Michael Keaton is on screen. But even that isn't handled well. The film tries to lay a foundation that Keaton's character is a father who neglects his family, but even that isn't handled well. When the snowman appears, boy does this become a strange film. It was strange before that, what with the crowd in Scene 1, loving the Jack Frost band, who sing songs about Jack Frost, play the harmonica and the violin (what is this, the 80s)? The film takes huge bombastic swings, that I don't think would have looked good in the 90s, and they don't play well now. The tone of the film is all over the place. At moments it's light and feels like something a kid would enjoy, but then there's serious subject matter (and jokes) that don't ft that tone. Now some of the best films, think PIXAR, juggle this really well. This does not. It also doesn't start like a film that kids would watch. So I'm not really sure who it's for. Because the concept and appearance of the snowman in this film is far too silly for adults.
Jack Frost is a strange film. Have I said that already? But it truly is one of the weirder semi-mainstream Christmas films I've ever seen. There's heart, don't get me wrong. But it's just lost under the layer and layers of baffling storytelling.
Review by TheLazyReviewerBlockedParent2024-02-11T07:16:27Z
Film 61 (Goal: 300) of 2024
I thought I knew what I was getting into with Jack Frost, and in a way I still did, but this film is pure bonkers. The synopsis alone is nuts but the execution is right up there. I only really chose this film, because I needed new Christmas films to watch, and I like Michael Keaton.
The best moments of the film are everything prior to the conversion, where Michael Keaton is on screen. But even that isn't handled well. The film tries to lay a foundation that Keaton's character is a father who neglects his family, but even that isn't handled well. When the snowman appears, boy does this become a strange film. It was strange before that, what with the crowd in Scene 1, loving the Jack Frost band, who sing songs about Jack Frost, play the harmonica and the violin (what is this, the 80s)? The film takes huge bombastic swings, that I don't think would have looked good in the 90s, and they don't play well now. The tone of the film is all over the place. At moments it's light and feels like something a kid would enjoy, but then there's serious subject matter (and jokes) that don't ft that tone. Now some of the best films, think PIXAR, juggle this really well. This does not. It also doesn't start like a film that kids would watch. So I'm not really sure who it's for. Because the concept and appearance of the snowman in this film is far too silly for adults.
Jack Frost is a strange film. Have I said that already? But it truly is one of the weirder semi-mainstream Christmas films I've ever seen. There's heart, don't get me wrong. But it's just lost under the layer and layers of baffling storytelling.