Directed by: Trey Miller
Starring: Michael Keaton, Joseph Cross, Kelly Preston, Henry Rollins, Mark Addy
Apparently, deceased loved ones return every day in the form of a snowman in the town where Charlie (Cross) and Gabby (Preston) live. How else do you explain their relative aplomb when confronted with the fact that Jack Frost (Keaton), who died the previous Christmas Eve in a car accident, has been resurrected as a walking, talking snowman? Oh sure, there are a couple of sniffles and a hug, but then the movie goes on to its business. I wouldn't expect a family comedy like Jack Frost to drip with realism, but I would think such a revelation would be met with more emotion than it is.
Jack is a struggling musician who spends a lot of time on the road and not enough time at home with his family. He dies in the car accident mentioned previously and then returns one year later as a snowman on the Frost's front lawn. The "snow" in this case is hilariously fake, but no matter. Minutes after Charlie has finally accepted that the snowman is indeed his father, the two are engaged in a snowball fight and sled chase with the town bullies. You would think Charlie, who wished to see his father again while playing a magical harmonica, would be thrilled to have his father back in any capacity and want to spend more time with him, but the movie is more interested in hockey games, snowball fights, and taking care of more pressing matters like the bullies.
Those expecting a payoff like Ghost would be sorely disappointed. Those who love Michael Keaton will only get to see him in the flesh for about half of the movie. The rest is just his voice. Those who like snowmen would enjoy the CGI creation depicted here. He seems big, jolly, and friendly enough, and I'd have to believe any allusion to Frosty the Snowman is not coincidence.
But, then, inexplicably, Jack/Snowman decides his widow and son must go on with their lives, which is now twice as difficult because it means they would have to lose him twice. Why? So, the movie could give us a tearjerker ending? I would have preferred a movie in which the son, mother, and Jack discuss just what it's like to be dead and come back to life, even if it is as a CGI creation.
No comments:
Post a Comment