Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 3, 1993 TAG: 9304030273
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
`JACK' ATTACKS THE TEAR DUCTS
The Youngbloods singing "Darkness, Darkness" as the credits roll on "Jack the Bear" is a clue that this coming-of-age story isn't going to be a rollicking look at the joys of youth.The movie is based on a 1974 novel by Dan McCall, but it owes much of its mood and plot reference points to the unassailable "To Kill A Mockingbird."
There is the widower raising two children in a windswept neighborhood. There's the bogyman on the block and the evils that racism unleashes. There's the inclusion of Halloween along with some vicious dogs and a narration by the young point-of-view character.
Even the music and the sound stage used to create the neighborhood recall the 1962 Robert Mulligan classic based on Harper Lee's extraordinary book. But this seems to come more from admiration than imitation. And it serves a broader purpose. It reminds us that "Mockingbird" was a bit of a suspense-thriller, too.
Danny DeVito plays John Leery, the host of an Oakland late-night TV horror show. Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. plays his 12-year-old son, Jack. Miko Hughes plays Dylan, the 3-year-old.
The time is the 1970s and the three are trying to cope with the death of John's wife and the boys' mother. John drinks a lot and isn't as responsible as he should be. Jack takes up the slack, watching Dylan and trying to adjust to a new school and neighborhood. The neighborhood is seedy and its inhabitants aren't exactly out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Director Marshall Herskovitz and screenwriter Steve Zaillian aren't afraid of character complexity as they chart the troubles of the poignant Leery family: You'd better pack plenty of hankies.
And they have a strong cast to work with. DeVito uses his trademark antics to deepen the character of the grieving John. But the kids are the real heartbreakers. Steinmiller appears wonderfully spontaneous and Hughes is an endearing little trouper.
\ Jack the Bear: *** A Twentieth Century-Fox picture at Tanglewood Mall Cinema (989-6165). Rated PG-13 for violence and scenes that may frighten younger children; 98 minutes.