Today’s quick review: Jack and Jill. Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler), an ad director going through a stressful time in his career, faces domestic turmoil when his annoying twin sister Jill (Adam Sandler) comes to stay over for Thanksgiving. While Jack tries to keep his sister’s issues from overwhelming the family, he scrambles to find a way to convince Al Pacino (Al Pacino) to star in one of his commercials.
Jack and Jill is a comedy starring Adam Sandler as a pair of twins with conflicting personalities. Jack is the more normal of the two, but he has a manipulative streak and is quick to judge his sister. Meanwhile, Jill is a kind-hearted loser with a laundry list of personal problems. The movie runs on a mixture of Jill’s antics and Jack’s increasingly desperate attempts to get the attention of mega-star Al Pacino.
Unfortunately, Jack and Jill gambles big on a character who does not pay off. Jill Sadelstein is larger than life in all the wrong ways. Loud, confused, and obnoxious, Jill dominates the movie even when she is not onscreen. Most of the movie’s humor comes from taking shots at Jill and the sorry state of her life, but late in the game, the movie switches tacks and tries to make her a sympathetic character who just needs a chance.
Jill’s unlikable personality proves to be a large barrier for the movie to overcome. A potentially touching plot about two siblings learning to respect one another is undermined by Jill’s abrasiveness. The character acts like a magnet for coarse humor, another mark against her for viewers who dislike that style of comedy. Finally, even the odd Jill joke that hits the mark is likely to be hurt by Adam Sandler’s exaggerated delivery.
The rest of the movie covers the spectrum between entertaining and bizarre. Jack’s job as an advertising director in Los Angeles gives the movie an excuse to bring in celebrities to poke fun at. The most notable of these is Al Pacino, who plays himself as an egotistical actor who develops an unhealthy obsession with Jill. The celebrity jokes score a couple of deep hits, but they make the movie feel more surreal than it already is.
Jack and Jill mixes a handful of good ideas with a few questionable ones and some very dubious execution. The character of Jill Sadelstein puts the movie at a disadvantage from the very beginning, and the situation only gets less tenable as the movie tries to mix in sentimentality and pop culture humor. Some viewers will find Jill either funny or sympathetic enough to enjoy the film, but most will consider Jack and Jill a swing and a miss.
[3.3 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810913/). I give it a 5.0 for a smattering of decent humor undermined by an unlikable lead and some odd decisions.