Jack Goes Boating (2010)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I really enjoy the output of Philip Seymour Hoffman. I think Hoffman was one of the absolute greatest actors of his generation. Hoffman's death was a huge blow to film lovers worldwide. An interesting note in his career is his sole directorial effort from 2010, Jack Goes Boating. Starring Hoffman himself in the titular role, alongside his love interest Amy Ryan, and John Ortiz as Jack's best friend, Jack Goes Boating tells the very human tale of a group of troubled friends trying to navigate life while living in New York City. It's a story Philip Seymour Hoffman would gravitate towards, a raw look at the emotional makeup and triggers of everyday people. Dealing with difficult people in troubling situations, Jack Goes Boating examines love and life through the eyes of a simple man who doesn't know too much about either subject.Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a quiet, incredibly reserved man who keeps to himself and is usually seen wearing headphones listening to the reggae music that relaxes him. Jack drives a limousine for a living and spends most of his time with Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin- Vega) when he is not at work. Clyde and Lucy seem to be all Jack has, as he is never seen with, or talking about, any family. Clyde and Lucy feel sympathy towards Jack for having no one else in his life and never experiencing love or being in a relationship, so they set him up on a blind date with Lucy's co-worker, Connie (Amy Ryan). Connie is also a simple, unassuming woman who is incredibly shy. Jack and Connie together, however, are able to encourage each other to find solace within themselves, and break out of their shells a bit and enjoy life. Amidst their budding romance, Jack discovers deep painful secrets in the relationship of Clyde and Lucy. The secrets come out in the open, bringing with them great pain and betrayal that the two are unsure they can overcome. The stark difference of watching one relationship bloom and another crumble, really expose the human element Philip Seymour Hoffman always aspired towards.Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of those actors that is difficult to watch now that he's passed away. He died so young and unexpectedly, it's so disappointing to think that we'll never again have another Philip Seymour Hoffman performance. As brilliant of an actor as Hoffman was, he faltered as a director. Character development was extremely weak in Jack Goes Boating. Other than their obvious character traits, we never really learn anything about each individual. It was also a bit tough to stomach the film's message that there are expected challenges that accompany relationships and infidelity may be among them. Such a distorted view of relationships may have been more indicative of the director's feelings towards them rather than the intent of the film, making the story of his life a little more difficult to bear. Overall, Jack Goes Boating was a decent directorial effort from a brilliant actor, though it is not a surprise that he directed only one film.

JACK GOES BOATING sneaks up on you. With a very small cast, very little dialogue, slow movement, and stuttered sound this little film slowly unravels a story about reconstructing tenuous lives for two awkward and damaged people who wrongly place their role models in the personas of pathological people. Robert Glaudini wrote the play on which this film is based and then thankfully wrote the screenplay for its transfer to film. Philip Seymour Hoffman produces, directs and stars, and once again proving he is an artist of great dramatic range. Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is an obese, socially inept limousine driver who tunes out the world by wearing earphones to his recorded reggae music. He wants something better, even if that is driving for MTA, but he is buried in the paperwork and bureaucracy. His fellow limo driver is Clyde (Jack Ortiz) who is married to Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) who works for a mortuary run by Dr Bob (Thomas McCarthy) who gives seminars on life that require telemarketing. There is a very plain new girl telemarketer Connie (Amy Ryan) with deep- seated issues of her own who faces being fired for being inept until a subway altercation increases her fortitude and she starts closing deals in her job. Clyde sets up Jack with Connie but with his lack of relationship skills almost blunders the setup. In the middle of winter Jack promises Connie that they will be dating by summer when Jack can take her boating. Clyde teaches the inept Jack how to swim, Lucy encourages Connie to take Jack seriously, and Jack accidentally promises Connie he will make dinner for her - something that really makes Connie trust Jack and find him desirable. Jack takes cooking lessons from Cannoli (Salvatore Inzerillo -a chef we soon discover Lucy has had affairs with) and with the swimming lessons preparing Jack for boating and the cooking lessons at Lucy and Clyde's apartment (Jack lives in his father's basement with only a hot plate!), the preparations for Jack and Connie to become connected are set. But very soon Jack learns from Clyde that Lucy is unfaithful, Lucy lets Jack know that Clyde has been unfaithful and when the time comes for Jack and Connie to have the 'dinner' with Lucy and Clyde, a volcanic reaction occurs , changing all the preparations in many ways. The interaction of the quartet of players show that life is a series of love, betrayal, friendship and grace. The manner in which the 'teaching couple' and the 'learning couple' find each other is both tender and pathetic - a balance that each of the quartet of players plays with aplomb. Hoffman takes Glaudini's play to new heights and the result is film that is insightful in the say it opens our eyes to the microstories that surround us. Grady Harp

Seymour-Hoffman's directorial debut is a well-rounded little film about being positive no matter the circumstances; the possibility of a solution at the end of the tunnel and the value of perseverance.Jack Goes Boating relates the tale of four people whose stories are wound together. The premise is simple: one couple throwing a blind date for the other two parties. From this seemingly basic starting point, the characters undergo transformations, all of which are sprinkled with life-lessons and positive philosophy, all the more poignant for its stark backdrop of lower-middle class life. In this sense, there is a feel of La Vita è Bella about it, although admittedly Jack Goes Boating is not quite in the same league as the former.Phillip Seymour-Hoffman pulls off some typically sensational acting, as does Amy Ryan, with a complicated emotional role which she executes very well indeed.All in all, a high-class film, totally worth watching, but not something that leaves you with the feeling it ought to have won Best Picture.(Please take the time to say whether you found this review useful. Thanks.)

"You've never been in a relationship for any length of time. A lot happens."Jack Goes Boating is a raw, hard to categorize directorial debut for Philip Seymour Hoffman, adapted from the play of the same title. I guess if I had to assign it a genre, it would be indie drama. The story follows the hesitantly blossoming relationship between Jack (Hoffman) and Connie (Amy Ryan), and the rocky, established relationship of their friends Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega). Jack Goes Boating reminded me of Two Lovers in some ways. It involves flawed people making decisions that aren't always the wisest ones, and dealing with things in their past that make their current relationships more difficult. Don't expect this to be romantic or cutesy, it attempts to go for the "realistic" angle, with all the problems and realities that come with real adult relationships. That's derailed a bit by the occasionally awkward dialogue and characters that aren't really as fleshed out as they needed to be. We don't get much of a sense of who they used to be or what their past was like, and that would have added to the movie immensely. It's somewhat difficult to put into context the characters as they are now, without that information.  Still, I think this was a pretty decent debut from Hoffman. He's clearly in the process of learning what works from the other side of the camera, and it's puzzling why they didn't adjust the odd, romance novel-like dialogue in some places, but overall, Jack Goes Boating hints at a promising future. There are some poignant moments that really stuck out, to me. Fans of Hoffman and Ryan (count me as both) should check it out.