JACK GOES BOATING (Alliance, 2010) D: Philip Seymour Hoffman, w/ Hoffman, Amy Ryan. Rating: NNNN DVD package: NN Rating: NNNN
Crisp direction, a tight, character-driven script and stellar acting make Jack Goes Boating a thoroughly engrossing drama.
Fortyish limo driver Jack has two friends, long-term couple Clyde and Lucy (John Ortiz, Daphne Rubin-Vega). They set him up with Lucy’s co-worker, Connie (Amy Ryan). Jack and Connie are both shy but willing to try, which in Jack’s case means, among other things, learning to swim and cook. Clyde and Lucy help things along, but disaster looms.
This may sound like a rom-com or a sentimental tale of lovable losers. It is neither. Jack, Connie, Clyde and Lucy are ordinary working people. They’ve got baggage, secrets, complex motives and dreams they’re working toward. The cast brings them fully to life.
Hoffman does a good job of opening up the play. There’s a short doc in the extras about stage-to-screen adaptation, but you’ll need the pause button to get much from it.
EXTRAS Adaptation doc, NY locations doc. Widescreen. English, French audio. English, French, Spanish subtitles.
