Jack the Bear (1993)

Danny DeVito is John Leary, a professional clown, whose wife's death in a car accident has left him to care for his two young boys.

Director:

Marshall Herskovitz

Writers:

Dan McCall (novel), Steven Zaillian (screenplay)

Stars:

Danny DeVito, Gary Sinise, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny DeVito	...	John Leary
Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.	...	Jack Leary
Miko Hughes	...	Dylan Leary
Gary Sinise	...	Norman Strick
Art LaFleur	...	Mr. Festinger
Stefan Gierasch	...	Father-in-Law
Erica Yohn	...	Mother-in-Law
Andrea Marcovicci	...	Elizabeth Leary
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Peggy Etinger
Reese Witherspoon	...	Karen Morris
Bert Remsen	...	Mitchell
Carl Gabriel Yorke	...	Gordon Layton
Lee Garlington	...	Mrs. Festinger
Lorinne Vozoff	...	Mrs. Mitchell
Justin Mosley Spink	...	Dexter Mitchell

Storyline

Danny DeVito is John Leary, a professional horror host "Al Gory"; whose wife's death in a car accident has left him to care for his two young boys. Loving, but useless at the daily job of fathering, the onus falls on plucky Jack the Bear (Robert J. Steinmiller, Jr.) Leary's conscience, and a quantity of alcohol, leads him to denounce a neo-fascist candidate on his children's television program, and also to the kidnapping of youngest son Dylan (Miko Hughes) by a disturbed neo-Nazi supporter.

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Plot Keywords:

usa horror host | usa male horror host | male horror host | movie reality crossover | halloween costume | 

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Taglines:

Laugh. Cry. Hold on tight.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for elements of theme, and for some terror

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie, Al Gory's (John Leary play by Danny DeVito) horror movie show was "Midnight Shriek", which ran late nights on KCFG, Channel 3, Oakland, California around 1972 ish.

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Goofs

The stuffed dog on the living room floor of Karen's house.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Leary: I thought I knew all about monsters. I used to watch them late at night on Dad's TV show. After we moved to Oakland, he stopped doing kid's shows, because he was different now. Everything was different. Now he was Al Gory, monster of ceremonies at Midnight Shriek.

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Connections

Features Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)

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Soundtracks

Section 43
Written by Country Joe McDonald
Performed by Country Joe and the Fish (as Country Joe & the Fish)
Courtesy of Vanguard Records/A Welk Music Group Co.
by arrangement with Warner Special Prodcuts

User Reviews

A brave film

Warning: Contains some spoilers

Although essentially a "coming of age" drama, few coming of age films show the degree of anger experienced by the title character of this movie. Jack is an adolescent who, as the movie opens, has just moved to a new neighborhood after the death of his mother. During the next few months, he faces some harsh life realities, such as a new school, his decaying opinion of his father, the abduction of his little brother and his fear of a dangerous neighbor. Most of all he faces the loss of his mother and deals with it the only way he can: by crying. None of these themes are new in a coming of age movie, but the emotions Jack goes through seem multiplied by 100 when compared to similar films. When he feels guilt, I was shocked by its intensity. And when he feels angry, I felt uneasy at the degree of rage shown by a basically mild mannered pre-teen.

The film is also not afraid to show its characters acting unpredictably. I came to care about them and was sometimes shocked by their behavior. But although disturbing, it was always realistic. All in all, I thought the film offered a bold example of how a family copes with big problems. I'd say that it's too intense for small children, but unfortunately adults may be put off by the story-line and the age of the main character. However, I'd recommend it to teens and adults who might have forgotten how rough adolescence can be.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jack the Bear

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,219,891, 4 April 1993

Gross USA:

$5,145,823

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,145,823

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, American Filmworks, Lucky Dog Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1