That being said, Jack and Jill is a dismal outing for Sandler, although the movie`s premise – Adam Sandler in drag, playing his own twin sister – inspires little confidence from the outset. Adam Sandler plays Jack Sadelstein, a guy who`s pretty happy with his life, except that every year he is beset with the catastrophic event of playing host to his twin sister Jill, who is screechy, unloveable, and has more neuroses than you could throw a psychiatrist at. Things take a turn for the ludicrous when the female half of the Terror Twins gets wooed by none other than Al `Say hello to my leetle friend` Pacino, playing himself.
While some may find the spectacle of Sandler in drag entertaining enough to keep them fixated through the entire movie, the film`s script is replete with more fart jokes and ethnic stereotypes than a college frat party. Examples of the film`s humour would be Adam Sandler (in drag) farting ad nauseum, engaging in random acts of violence against senior citizens, and getting punched in the face by an adopted Indian kid. This, coupled with an utterly unconvincing performance by Sandler, makes for a film that has to rely on a large dose of gratuitous celebrity cameos – ranging from Johnny Depp to Shaquille O`Neal – to generate any sort of interest.
The film does feature one single bright spot however, in the form of the inimitable Al Pacino, who seems to enjoy lampooning his trademark thespian intensity, and gets the lion`s share of the laughs with his panache. Sadly though, even Michael Corleone can`t save this film from sleeping with the fishes.
Summary: To quote Al Pacino: “BURN IT!”
Rating: 2.5/5 Raphael Lim