Good afternoon everyone, and welcome back to this blog once again, consisting of reviewing mostly movies, as well as some other material that’s media related once in a while. Today, we are going to be reviewing a Christmas-themed film that I had not originally planned to review. In fact, I had actually planned to review the more popular Home Alone, and it’s sequel, in celebration of at least the former film’s 30th anniversary. Who knows? If not this year, then maybe I could still review those this year, or just save them for next year, or the year after. That shall be played by ear. Anyway, instead of those, I decided for us to dive into a film that not nearly as many people have seemed to talk about all that much. Not to mention that, much like some other films that I reviewed over this year, also was released in 1998, just a few weeks before that year came to a close. With that said, let’s talk about the movie that was released on Friday, December 11th, 1998, the one, and only Jack Frost.
Plot: Set in Medford, Colorado, a young hockey player named Charlie Frost (Joseph Cross) decides to not play hockey anymore, as well as begins to isolate himself from his friends when his father, Jack Frost (Michael Keaton), passes away from an unexpected car crash. But one night, just a year later, Charlie builds a snowman, and puts his dad’s old hat on the new snowman. Following that, Charlie plays his father’s old harmonica, unintentionally making his father come back to life in the snowman that he just built. As Charlie, and his father, Jack, begin to bond again, can Jack convince Charlie to play hockey again, and get on with his life before he returns to the afterlife?
Surprisingly, I didn’t see this film right away when it came out in December 1998. In fact, what happened was that Debbie, my aunt, and I were thinking of a movie to see that was playing at one of the dollar theaters around the Denver area. Long story short, we decided on seeing Jack Frost, when it was still playing at the dollar theater back around spring of 1999. If I recall, even if we liked it to one degree, or another, we agreed that the concept of someone coming temporarily back to life as a snowman might have been a little weird. For me, I was still fine with the film, as my family still rented it on video, and watched it a couple times then.
After rewatching this film again after so many years, is it even remotely as good as I thought? Well, let me put it to you guys this way. Sure, a man coming back to life as a snowman wouldn’t happen in real life. Then again, neither would a man going down a chimney, into an area that would turn into a fireplace (The Santa Clause), or a human being raised by elves, or even talking to CGI characters that live in the North Pole (Elf). With that said, if there are in fact those people who saw this film, and didn’t like it simply because of a human coming back to life as a snowman wouldn’t one might as well not like The Santa Clause, or Elf, or Christmas films like those for the fantasy elements in those movies? Well, that’s just something to think about, that’s all.
Anyway, there are a few area where 109&’s Jack Frost could have likely improved. First off, there were one, or two scenes that may have come close to being a little too mature for kids. Thankfully, the camera did pan away before those one, or two scenes came close to being cringeworthy. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if kids were to ask their parents about those scenes, and parents basically told their kids to ask them again when they’re older. In addition to this, there were some characters that seemed not have much personality in this film, and seemed to be more one-note, and were in the film just for the sake of being in the film. Truthfully, for those of you who saw a movie like the 2001 Disney film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and thought some of the characters there were one-note, and jaded, you may like the characters in there better than at least the few characters in Jack Frost that seemed rather under developed. Finally, there were also one, or two characters, whose development over the course of this movie, seemed a little too rushed, and could have been handled a little better. Okay, the time constraints with family films like this are understandable. Still, is it too much to ask for maybe an additional 10-15 minutes for some of the character growth to be a little better?
Now, with these few flaws, is this film bad? Definitely not! As a matter of fact, Jack Frost seems to be one of those films that, like Disney films like Treasure Planet, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is good, but underrated when it comes to the Christmas movie world. Sure, in this case, this movie’s good elements seem to thrive a little more from some of the lessons that this film seems to provide. But more on that fairly soon. Besides a a couple characters not being developed 100%, most of the other characters, whether it be Charlie, his parents, and most of the other characters, are very likable. Not only are they really likable, but they’re also realistic, and you can sympathize with them. Overall, the movie also does an excellent job of showing that when people go through difficult times in their lives, have this tendency of turning into something that they’re not. Okay, maybe not everyone does that, but it certainly seems like many people do. That said, this film does an excellent job of portraying that. Next, Trevor Rabin does a really good job with his musical score. This especially seems true when making really good music around the middle, and towards the end of the film. Additionally, the movie, Jack Frost, does a really good job of balancing out the comedy with the more tragic moments that occur in this film. It’s like with the 1999 Disney film, Tarzan. Now, for those of us who saw that Disney movie, many of us can agree that even if that film was very sad at some points, it also did an equally good job of inserting comedic moments that worked cleverly, as opposed to being forced, yes? Well, all to say, the same can be said with this 1998 Warner Bros. film, Jack Frost. Yes, the more funny scenes may be in the beginning of the film, but there are also some funny, and light-hearted times around the middle, and towards the end as well. Also, how could you not like the scenery of Medford, Colorado in this film? Quite honestly, I had forgotten that this movie took place in any part of Colorado, period. Maybe I’m sounding biased for living in Colorado, but still. Anyway, as mentioned before, there are some valuable lessons to take away from watching this film. First off, there’s the lesson about how we can’t let hardships in our lives change who God created us to be. Okay, this may not necessarily be a Christian film, but a lesson like that still applies. Next, there’s the lesson about how we need to learn to balance family life, and the life involving having to work. Yes, we do need to work, and learn to provide for ourselves, as well as others. However, the movie does an excellent job of showing how we need to make the people in our lives a priority more so, you know? Finally, there is the lesson of how long we should grieve for certain people that we have lost in our lives. Yes, of course when we lose say a parent, or a friend of ours, or any relative, we do need to take time to grieve for them? That said, the question that we should ask ourselves is how long we grieve for those people that we lost before moving on with our lives. Yeah, definitely a good question to ask ourselves, that’s for sure. Oh, and there’s one more thing worth mentioning. Scenes like the ending, and a few others can be really, really heart felt, and possibly make your heart, and emotions melt like snow (pun intended).
And that’s my review for the 1998 Warner Bros. movie, Jack Frost. After watching this film again, one should say that you might not like it quite as much as say other Christmas movies like A Christmas Story, Home Alone, Elf, or movies like those. At the same time, however, Jack Frost didn’t deserve to only be given 19% on Rotten Tomatoes by professional critics. COME ON! A movie like the musical Cats (which came out last year) deserved a 19% more so than this Jack Frost film. Okay, Cats was an average film at best, but still. Anyway, Jack Frost seems to be one of those underappreciated movies that most definitely deserves more recognition. True, this film may not quite be in the A range, but it comes close. Despite having a couple flaws, more people should see Jack Frost. I would say make it a point to see this film when you can. Sure, there are some elements that are fantasy, and not realistic. However, there are some valuable things to think about after seeing this film. Well, watch Jack Frost for yourselves, and see what you think!
Final Grade: B+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 