How Did I React to Jack

I did not expect to cry when I saw Jack but I did. I laughed at him a little because of his childishness but mostly I felt sorry for him and he made me cry. Jack has Werner syndrome, an aging disease. He aged four times faster than normal. At age ten, he had the body of a forty year-old.

This 1996 fictional comedy-drama movie starring Robin Williams as Jack hit me hard. I don’t know why, exactly but I shed tears as the movie took me to simple scenes like when he got brokenhearted after Jennifer Lopez (his teacher) turned down his offer for a date to a dance because he was just a kid. He suffered unstable angina, and after that, got confined to the house and thrown to home schooling with tutor (Bill Cosby) to shield him from the stress of the outside world, a decision his loving parents made. Although the plot is unrealistic (in the film the syndrome’s aging progression rate was exaggerated) the feelings seemed so real and the life lessons applicable to real life.


Here are some touchy moments that stood out:

Jack: What do I want to be when I grow up? [topic he is to write about in school].
Alive.
[Most of us take life for granted].

Jack‘s Tutor: Do you know why I teach, Jack?
Jack: No.
Tutor: Well, I teach, not to pass on knowledge, not to produce great people, but because I enjoy meeting young people and being around them. And, Jack, you were my most exceptional pupil. Because even being what you are, you still had a desire to learn. Now, tell me, have you ever seen a shooting star, Jack?
[Jack shakes his head]
Tutor: No? Well, they're very rare. They're seen in the sky for only a very brief time. But when they appear, they are so bright, and so brilliant, that all the other normal stars just stand still, and watch that star as it passes among them.
Jack: I just . . . want to be a regular star.
Tutor: You will never be a regular star, Jack. You are spectacular.

[In the end, Jack, with the appearing like seventy-year old but only
seventeen, arrives at his high school graduation].

Presenter: I would like to present, to read the graduation speech, this year's Valedictorian: Mr. Jack . . .
[applause]
Jack: [taking the stand] Thank you . . . Aristotle.

[Due to his aged condition he has to take out spectacles to read the speech]
Jack: As we come to the end of our school years, we find ourselves remembering the good times, and trying to forget the bad times. And as we start to look ahead, we start to worry. We think "What am I going to do? Where am I going to be in ten years?" But I say to you, "Hey, look at me!" Please, don't worry so much. Because when you get right down to it, none of us have very long on this earth. Life is fleeting, like a shooting star in the sky. Whenever you see a shooting star light up the sky with its brilliance, think of me, and try to make each and every moment of our lives as spectacular as possible. I know I did. I made it, Mom. I'm a grown-up.

The story has funny moments but the drama content weighs heavier than the comedy part. I love this movie. I give it 4 and half thumbs up out of 5. I saw it on cable today after I worked the night shift. Unlike most movies, this one did not put me to sleep. It’s worth 2 hours of your time, I think.

Have you seen this movie? What do you think about it?