Matching Jack
Cinema Nova, 19/08/2010
Status: Behind by 8 (and a bit) films
I cried in Matching Jack and then felt gypped about it. Of course I cried - it’s a film about two brave, heroic young boys (TOM RUSSELL, Last Ride and KODI SMIT-McPHEE, Romulus, My Father, The Road, Let Me In) with leukemia who share a hospital room. Crying kind of seems like a given and is not really down to any great movie-making or story-telling skill.
I think part of the capital-m Message of the film was something vaguely about hope and laughter and creating joy out of awfulness, but the “laughter is the best medicine” schtick felt forced to the point of creepy.
The central idea of the film is a good one, though, an interesting hook - at the same time Jack (RUSSELL) is diagnosed with leukemia, his mum (JACINDA BARRETT, Poseidon, Ladder 49) discovers that dad (RICHARD ROXBURGH) has had seemingly dozens of affairs over the last decade. Desperate to increase Jack’s chances of successful bone marrow transplant, mum begins to ring-around dad’s exes, looking for any illegitimate children that could spare some marrow. Also at the same time, she starts a new relationship with Smit-McPhee's dad, (played by JAMES NESBITT, BBC's Cold Feet and Jekyll).
It’s a good idea and adds another level to the melodrama, but it’s a superficial level - the focus of the story and the running time is mostly dedicated to fairly standard mid-day movie disease-of-the-week stuff with an obvious love story as a shiny coat. It made me scoff just as much - more, maybe - than it made me cry.
