Jack Goes Boating (2009)

Jack Goes Boating marks the directorial debut of one of America's most accomplished and one of my personal favorite actors, the brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman. The man has been a spark in such films as Spike Lee's touching 25th Hour and the Charlie Kaufman-helmed surrealist mind-bender Synecdoche, Ny. His direction here is understated, his film shambling but not entirely bleak. Jack Goes Boating is a drifting picture, but it is a winner because of its heart. It could have, given the subject matter, a relentlessly dour experience. Instead, Hoffman incorporates both the happy and the sad in mostly equal measures. A small film, but a success.

The film centers on a neurotic, rasti-loving New York limo driver with a penchant for pot and a nearly overwhelming sense of day-to-day isolation. He latches onto a couple whose marital fabric is stretching from past indiscretions, through whom he is introduced to an equally neurotic young woman named Connie who seems to have a good if oft-trampled heart.

In some ways, Jack Goes Boating feels a lot like a Cheever or a Raymond Carver short story. There is not a lot of action, the story centering mainly on character interactions. It is plodding but never dull. There are many surprises, actually, such as a weird subway scene and a dinner party climax for the ages. Despite what its detractors will no doubt claim, the film strikes a resonant tone. It seems "real", for lack of a better word. Hoffman's performance is understated but always reliable and Amy Ryan is excellent as the damaged Connie. The two leads are ultimately a conjoined foil for the other couple whose marital pains provide the film's moral center, as well as dramatic tension.

Indie enthusiasts take note, the soundtrack is also quite interesting. Though the song choices are generic, the bands represented are some of my favorites, Grizzly Bear and Fleet Foxes among them. Ultimately, this is a soft film with a lot of memorable scenes, snappy dialogue and while it may meander, that is its charm. Very poignant.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Every year, there are a fair share of idiosyncratic character pieces that pop up in the indie film scene that are loaded down with critical hyperbole proclaiming them as comedic masterworks. And nine out of ten times, these films (marketed as comedies) leave mainstream audiences perplexed. "Jack Goes Boating" is a prime example of just such a film--albeit one with a pretty impressive pedigree. Directed by and starring the great Philip Seymour Hoffman with the terrific Amy Ryan providing support, let me make one thing clear before I go any further--I am EXACTLY the audience for this film. In fact, when it was in town theatrically, I was going to go but it only lasted one week in our local movie houses. So I knew what this film was, had my expectations firmly in check, and was eager to jump right in! Well, truth be told, Hoffman's work left me a little cold with its remote awkwardness.

I appreciate films that can mine comic inspiration from the world's disconnectedness. "Jack Goes Boating" assembles the requisite damaged oddballs and brings them together to achieve maximum quirkiness. I'd describe the plot, but it is really rather superfluous. In summary, Hoffman and Ryan play an unlikely pair brought together by their married, but increasingly troubled, friends (John Ortiz and Daphne Ruben-Vega). That's about it. Will the pair be able to overcome their own problems to unite as a post modern example of healthy couple-hood? Or will you care? That might be a far more astute question. On some level, the viewer must be able to connect with the characters--preferably to like them, but absolutely essentially to understand them. Here, the characters stand as constructs--bits of weirdness with no real world explanation to their social deficiencies. If you knew the central characters in your real life, you would run in the opposite direction so as not to be sucked into their unexplained and self-imposed misery.

I didn't hate the movie, per se, I was just completely removed from it. Anyone, however, judging the marketing campaign and picking this up as a robust comedy might feel a bit betrayed. I knew what to expect. Still, Ryan is glass menagerie brittle while Hoffman is monosyllabic awkwardness. Neither character is developed much beyond superficial qualities that would brand them social pariahs. Ortiz stands as the only member of the cast that possessed an iota of joy or genuine warmth--and the film progressively makes him less and less palatable. At the end, I didn't care about anyone in the film and in a program billed as "heartfelt"--this is a major stumbling block. There were moments I quite liked, but as a whole, the picture never gelled to be anything other than odd. KGHarris, 5/11.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This film was exactly what I thought it would be, and more.

Philip Seymour Hoffman directs and stars in this quiet, quirky film about a man named Jack. Jack and Connie are set up on a blind date by their married friends, Clyde and Lucy. Clyde and Lucy seem very together and ambitious, while Jack and Connie are basically loner losers.

But from this humble, awkward first date emerges a real relationship and passion for life. Throughout the film we see very little of Jack and Connie, or Lucy and Clyde, together, but we really get to know them as individuals and couples.

The perfection Clyde and Lucy exude quickly diminishes to show the tarnished dysfunction they actually inhabit together. The denial and lack of love is painful to watch, while Jack's hopefulness and devotion are truly touching. The lesson this film taught me made it worth watching (the last line is so beautiful).

Some pretty scary and violent (more verbal than physical) moments show the depth of the actors in this film. This is definitely an offbeat film, so it may not be for you.

And the soundtrack is amazing!!

Very quirky and dark, but with enough sentimental moments to endear you, Jack Goes Boating is a good film.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program In his directorial debut, Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman also stars as the shy and simple Jack. Bob Glaudini adapted his acclaimed off-broadway play for this movie, where Hoffman reprised his role on stage.

Set in New York City, Jack drives a limo for his uncle. Jack's sole friends, Clyde and Lucy, have their own problems and ambiguities. They set up Jack on a blind date with Connie (Amy Ryan) that ignites a narrative comprised of a series of drab superfluous occurrences. The underlying theme seems to be misery and monotony. Jack and Connie are two uncommitted single individuals with their own personal and social issues, and are unconsciously yet successfully withdrawing into the urban background of anonymity. Together and in each other they discover the desire to begin a burgeoning relationship. Ironically, the friends who brought them together are battling the crisis of a failing and unsettled marriage.

So, Jack goes boating because... well, I suppose I shouldn't spoil it here. Let's just say he wants to rise above his fears and deficiencies. He overcomes his fear of water, as well as his lack of skills in the kitchen, in the very basic interest of self-improvement. Oh, and he also wants to impress his newfound love interest.

Love and friendship, lies and betrayal, achievement and collapse. "Jack Goes Boating" is casually situated in a slice of working-class New York City life. The writing and acting is brutally genuine. Hoffman demonstrates his versatile talents behind the camera and in front of it. Quixotic and exquisite, the movie is an informal tale of love that comes and goes like a snowflake in winter. Depending on your taste, you will either hate it or appreciate it.

Highly recommended.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program (DVD review)

Philip Seymour Hoffman directs and plays the lead character in a screen adaptation of Bob Glaudini's play "Jack Goes Boating." There are a lot of things to like about this film, including the "ordinary guy" aspect of the character Jack. He's somebody who's struggling with many of the same things the rest of us are, such as relationship issues and getting a better job, but he works hard to maintain a "positive vibe." The story is about two couples, all four people portrayed very well by the actors who played them, especially John Ortiz as Clyde. But it's a lot of the smaller things that made me like "Jack Goes Boating," including the effective use of music, both songs and score; plus such storytelling touches as the way Jack tries to visualize the things he is learning. The central scene in the movie, the dinner party, was a bit hard to watch. Still, I acknowledge its importance and saw how it ties into the rest of the story, how it is both the outcome of what came before it and affects what comes after it.

The extras on the disc are fairly minimal, with two short featurettes and two even shorter deleted scenes.

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