BEFORE: From a movie where Robin Williams played a kid-like adult to one where he plays an adult-like kid.
THE PLOT: A boy with an unusual aging disorder enters the fifth grade with the appearance of a 40 year old man.
AFTER: Not much to report on this one - I'm not sure it was much of a stretch for Robin Williams to act like a kid - doesn't he sort of do that all the time anyway?
It's hard to fathom Francis Ford Coppola, director of "The Godfather", making this film that concentrates on fart jokes and kids eating gross things.
Similar message to last night's film - since Jack ages so fast, it's sort of a given that his life could be 1/4 as short as that of other people - so it's extra important for him to make the best use of whatever time he has. In this case, it's going to school and making friends.
Even though Jack is shown having fun with his friends, there's a maudlin pall over the whole occasion, simply because of his rapid aging. There is an upside to being 10 and looking like 40 - being good at basketball, for example (though he seems to take a long time to figure this out). He also can buy liquor and porno mags - though he never seems to get busted for this, so what kind of message does the film send out to the kids? It's OK for kids to read Penthouse, as long as someone else buys it for them?
Also starring Diane Lane (last seen in "The Perfect Storm"), Jennifer Lopez (last seen in "Money Train"), Brian Kerwin, Bill Cosby (last seen in "The Meteor Man"), with cameos from Fran Drescher, Michael McKean (last seen in "Man Trouble"), and Don Novello (last seen in "Tucker: The Man and His Dream").
RATING: 3 out of 10 Halloween costumes
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