Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writers:

David Franzoni (story)
David Franzoni (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A Dangerously Funny Movie

Plot:

Terry works for a bank, and uses computers to communicate with clients all over the world. One day she gets a strange message from an unknown source...

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Bank | Dress | Truth Serum | New York City

Cast

Whoopi Goldberg	...	Terry Dolittle
Stephen Collins	...	Marty Phillips
John Wood	...	Jeremy Talbott
Carol Kane	...	Cynthia
Annie Potts	...	Liz Carlson
Peter Michael Goetz	...	James Page
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Archer Lincoln
Sara Botsford	...	Lady Sarah Billings
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Mark Van Meter (as Jeroen Krabbe)
Vyto Ruginis	...	Carl
Jonathan Pryce	...	Jack
Tony Hendra	...	Hunter
Jon Lovitz	...	Doug, 1st National Bank
Phil Hartman	...	Fred, 1st National Bank (as Phil E. Hartmann)
Lynne Marie Stewart	...	Karen, 1st National Bank

Also Known As:

Knock, Knock (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min | West Germany:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #27449)

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Lawrence Gordon Productions

Trivia:

Shelley Long was originally cast to play the lead character.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Lady Sara tells Terry that MI5 helped her get the exit contact for Jack. MI5 is concerned with Internal Security in Britain. Since Jack was out of the country, MI6 (external security) would be the agency establishing an exit contact.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Male Broadcaster: [click] ... House has issued a series of clarifications of several of the President's statements at his nationally televised news conference last night. In addition to responding to a question about abortion with a three-minute answer about taxes and confusing his Attorney General with his Chief of Staff...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

Soundtrack:

Hold On

Well, it's alright now...

It seems that this is another of those films that TV networks (in the UK, at least) just loved to show two or three times a year. It also feels like years since I last watched it and having spotted it on my Better Half's DVD collection, it also felt like the time was right to reacquaint myself with Whoopi Goldberg's electrifying comic debut. Plus, I'd just worked a long night shift and was in the mood for something undemanding and this fit the bill perfectly.

Whoopi plays Terry Dolittle, a computer worker in a New York bank who communicates with clients across the world. At least, she's supposed to and when her "work" is interrupted by someone calling themselves Jumping Jack Flash, she responds in typically brash fashion. But it soon transpires that Jack is a spy trapped on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain. Terry quickly finds herself up to her neck in international espionage and murky meetings at midnight in an effort to get Jack back, despite the efforts of the British Embassay and slimy diplomat Jeremy Talbott (John Wood).

It's fair to be said that despite the obviously dated storyline and setting, Whoopi carries this film. She is surprisingly brilliant and suggests that apart from "Ghost", she may have been wasted in most of her other films. She is genuinely funny in this film, which does have its moments but is rarely anything other than amusing. Nowhere is the film more dated than its feel as spies are little more than shadows in trench-coats and the baddies are all-too-eager in indulge in a little light torture. James Belushi's cameo as a hired thug is also amusing but like the rest of the film, he never really seems to go at full throttle. Only Whoopi develops a head of steam and is easily the best thing in "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

In summary, this is a disappointing waste of a timeless lead performance from one of America's most under-rated comic performers. Whoopi really shows us what she's capable of but sadly, the rest of the film cannot compete with her and she's simply in a class of her own. Without Whoopi, this would just be yet another Cold War caper with little laughs and less suspense. Sorry but this doesn't cut the mustard any longer and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is no longer much of a gas, gas, gas. It's not a terrible film but if you want a light-hearted, easy-going spy caper then this could be the film for you but it isn't as memorable as Mick Jagger's lyrics...