'Kangaroo Jack' cribs heavily from Abbott and Costello

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

KANGAROO JACK (Rated PG for profanity, sexual innuendo and violence) Stars: A live-action movie with a cartoon mentality about two Yanks on a mission for the mob. They have to catch an elusive kangaroo that has hopped off with their cash. Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson co-star in this unpretentious Outback comedy, aimed mostly at youngsters. But the digital kangaroo steals the show for director David McNally. Warner Bros. 87 minutes.

But like its hip-hopping title character, "Jack" has its ups and downs. For openers, the film should have been told from the kangaroo's point of view — he's far more entertaining than any of the humans dotting the dusty landscape.

Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson co-star as best buddies Charlie and Louis, dimwitted numbskulls who operate a beauty salon in Brooklyn. Charlie's uncle, a local mobster played by Christopher Walken, sends the guys to Australia to deliver $50,000 to an Australian named Mr. Smith.

On their way to meet Smith in the Outback, in circumstances that are too complicated and nutty to describe, the money ends up in the possession of a high-jumping kangaroo. As the guys figure it, retrieving that money is a matter of life or death.

"Kangaroo Jack" seems to have two role models — "Road Runner" cartoons and Abbott and Costello comedies.

The elusive kangaroo is the Road Runner, while Charlie and Louis combine to form the coyote, giving chase. And, as for the guys, Charlie is Bud Abbott, the slightly smarter straight man, while Louis is Lou Costello, the rotund funnyman.

But the Road Runner and Abbott and Costello never had to lean on flatulent camels to get laughs.

O'Connell is a poor man's David Schwimmer, which I admit is faint praise, and doesn't generate much of an impact. Anderson fares better — he's frequently funny, combining a wide range of expressions and a likable persona.

Walken's Brooklyn mobster only has a few scenes, but Walken grabs them with his typical gusto, especially as his character tries to improve his vocabulary.

But the true star is Kangaroo Jack, a digitally created creature with amusing expressions and a flippant attitude. The movie comes to life whenever he hops across the horizon — and fades back to mediocrity as soon as he disappears.

Rated PG for profanity, sexual innuendo and violence.