Jack and Jill vs. the World
Encyclopedia
Jack and Jill vs. the World is a film by Vanessa Parise. It was released on April 4, 2008 and stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Taryn Manning
as Jack and Jill.
advertising executive, living a life forged from routine. He is successful and stylish... and extremely bored. Jack meets Jill (Manning) by chance on a rooftop. Jill is looking for an apartment and asks Jack for directions. Jack suggests Jill's name for an ad shoot. Later he drives Jill to her apartment and realizes the neighborhood may not be all that safe. He helps Jill move out of her place and the two move in together by week's end. The pair pieces together a playful manifesto of "rules to live by." Jack's best friend and business partner, George (Stebbings), notices a more playful side to Jack's usual cynicism, and wants to meet the cause.
Jill's free-spirited nature causes some friction, however. When her long absences go unexplained, Jack forces Jill to confess that her disappearances are a result of the treatment she needs for cystic fibrosis
, an ultimately terminal illness
. Jack is furious with Jill for violating their pact of honesty, and they break up.
A talk with his father Norman (Forster) incites Jack to find Jill. Jack tracks down her wacky friend, Lucy (Parise), and pleads his case. Convinced that he truly loves Jill, Lucy admits that Jill is catching a Greyhound bus cross-country to Hollywood. Jack reevaluates his life, and just as he quits his job, a bomb threat is called in at his work. Jack goes outside and George tells him that the bomb threat was called in by someone who wants to fight ugliness. Jack realizes that the culprit has to be Jill. The two make up, and with their new dog in tow, they hit the highway... with no destination in sight except for a life together.
Rule 2 Believe in fairy tales
Rule 3 Accept time as our friend
Rule 4 Make sure the nooky is good
Rule 5 Promote beauty. Wage a sustained campaign against ugliness
Rule 6 Abandon the pursuit of happiness and its false promise
Rule 7 Show compassion, except to pirates
Rule 8 Less TV
Rule 9 Always be willing to admit when you're wrong
concluded that it is "Blind to the fact that it should be rising up against its own formulaic kind."
indie rock
band Stars.
Taryn Manning
Taryn Manning is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of the clothing brand Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful...
as Jack and Jill.
Cast
- Freddie Prinze Jr. as Jack
- Taryn ManningTaryn ManningTaryn Manning is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of the clothing brand Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful...
as Jill - Robert ForsterRobert ForsterRobert Forster is an American actor, best known for his roles as John Cassellis in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and as Max Cherry in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, the latter of which gained him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.- Early life :Forster was born Robert Wallace...
as Norman - Vanessa Parise as Lucy
- Kelly RowanKelly RowanKelly Rowan is a Canadian television and film actress and former fashion model. She is best known for portraying Kirsten Cohen on The O.C.-Early life:...
as Kate - Peter StebbingsPeter StebbingsPeter Stebbings is a Canadian veteran actor who started practicing his trade at the Vancouver Youth Theater when he was just 12 years old. He worked at various odd jobs growing up, including bus boy and bike courier, before making the serious move to acting...
as George - Ingrid Doucet as Sally
- Lisa Ciara as Amberly
- Darrin BrownDarrin BrownDarrin Brown is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Dwayne Myers on the Degrassi television series.Brown was born in Toronto, Ontario. In 1992, Brown received a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute...
as T-Bone - Claudia Besso as Melony
- Krista SuttonKrista SuttonKrista Sutton is a Canadian actress who has worked in television, movies and theatre. She is also an acting teacher. She grew up in Toronto but currently lives in New York City. She is best known for her leading role in the improvisational drama Train 48...
as Emily - Julian RichingsJulian RichingsJulian Richings is an English-born Canadian actor. He appeared in over 50 Canadian films and 20 separate television series.-Life and career:...
as Mr. Smith - Ethan Penner as Wyatt
- Hannah LochnerHannah LochnerHannah Lochner is a Canadian actress.She has appeared in number of made-for-TV films and in a number of Canadian television series such as Life with Derek, Wild Card. But she is perhaps best known for her opening scene as Vivian in the 2004 film, Dawn of the Dead. She also has a number of films...
as Holly - Charles Martin SmithCharles Martin SmithCharles Martin Smith is an American film actor, writer, and director.-Early life:Smith was born in Van Nuys, California. His father, Frank Smith, was a film cartoonist and animator, while his uncle Paul J. Smith was an animator as well as a director for the Walter Lantz Studios...
as Carlin
Plot
Jack (Prinze Jr.) is a thirty-something New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
advertising executive, living a life forged from routine. He is successful and stylish... and extremely bored. Jack meets Jill (Manning) by chance on a rooftop. Jill is looking for an apartment and asks Jack for directions. Jack suggests Jill's name for an ad shoot. Later he drives Jill to her apartment and realizes the neighborhood may not be all that safe. He helps Jill move out of her place and the two move in together by week's end. The pair pieces together a playful manifesto of "rules to live by." Jack's best friend and business partner, George (Stebbings), notices a more playful side to Jack's usual cynicism, and wants to meet the cause.
Jill's free-spirited nature causes some friction, however. When her long absences go unexplained, Jack forces Jill to confess that her disappearances are a result of the treatment she needs for cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease affecting most critically the lungs, and also the pancreas, liver, and intestine...
, an ultimately terminal illness
Terminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
. Jack is furious with Jill for violating their pact of honesty, and they break up.
A talk with his father Norman (Forster) incites Jack to find Jill. Jack tracks down her wacky friend, Lucy (Parise), and pleads his case. Convinced that he truly loves Jill, Lucy admits that Jill is catching a Greyhound bus cross-country to Hollywood. Jack reevaluates his life, and just as he quits his job, a bomb threat is called in at his work. Jack goes outside and George tells him that the bomb threat was called in by someone who wants to fight ugliness. Jack realizes that the culprit has to be Jill. The two make up, and with their new dog in tow, they hit the highway... with no destination in sight except for a life together.
Jack and Jill's Manifesto of Rules to Live By
Rule 1 Be honestRule 2 Believe in fairy tales
Rule 3 Accept time as our friend
Rule 4 Make sure the nooky is good
Rule 5 Promote beauty. Wage a sustained campaign against ugliness
Rule 6 Abandon the pursuit of happiness and its false promise
Rule 7 Show compassion, except to pirates
Rule 8 Less TV
Rule 9 Always be willing to admit when you're wrong
Reception
The film garnered a mixed reception from critics. According to Reel Film reviews it "ultimately establishes itself as an affable endeavor that benefits substantially from the charismatic work of its two leads." But Robert Abele of the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
concluded that it is "Blind to the fact that it should be rising up against its own formulaic kind."
Music
The soundtrack features music by CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Stars.
External links
- Jack and Jill vs. the World at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Official Website