Kangaroo Jack (2003)

8% of critics liked it
(111 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(57,381 ratings)

Two low-level American crooks head to Australia, where they match wits with a kangaroo (who appears to have an intellectual edge on his pursuers) in this broad comedy. Charlie Carbone (Jerry O'Connell) is a hairdresser from Brooklyn whose best friend, Louis Booker (Anthony Anderson), scrapes… More Two low-level American crooks head to Australia, where they match wits with a kangaroo (who appears to have an intellectual edge on his pursuers) in this broad comedy. Charlie Carbone (Jerry O'Connell) is a hairdresser from Brooklyn whose best friend, Louis Booker (Anthony Anderson), scrapes together a living moving stolen merchandise. Charlie's stepfather, Sal Maggio (Christopher Walken), is a crime kingpin who has loaned Charlie a lot of money and wants to know when he'll get it back; Sal's not especially fond of Louis, especially after he and Charlie accidentally lead the police to a storehouse of burgled goods owned by Sal. Charlie owes Sal a big favor, and Sal wants Charlie and Louis out of his hair for a while, so Sal sends them to Australia, where they're to deliver a large amount of cash to a mysterious Mr. Smith (Marton Csokas). En route to their meeting in the outback, Charlie and Louis accidentally run over a kangaroo, and the half-bright tourists decide to dress the dead marsupial in sunglasses and Louis' favorite jacket for snapshots. However, the animal wasn't as dead as they imagined, and it soon hops away, shortly after Louis realizes the payment to Mr. Smith was in the pocket. Now Louis and Charlie are out to find the fast-moving critter, with the help of Jessie (Estella Warren), a wildlife expert; Mr. Jimmy (David Ngoombujarra), a wilderness guide; and Blue (Bill Hunter), a pilot familiar with the outback. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: David McNally
Written By: Steve Bing, Scott Rosenberg
Genres: Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 17, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Jun 24, 2003
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

Bill Stamets, Chicago Reader
Likable but negligible.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Aussie-set comic fiasco.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
It's 89 minutes of pure agony without a laugh in sight.
Joe McGovern, Village Voice
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has an unparalleled knack for assembling Z-grade talent, particularly when operating in family-fun mode.
Daphne Gordon, Toronto Star
It's clear it was intended to cash in with audiences of all ages, but the antics are distinctly childish, while the romance is sexually suggestive.
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
Computer effects have reduced a magnificent animal to a cartoon comic foil with human expressions and a yen for red licorice.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
A very bad movie -- shouldn't have been PG.
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
A ragged comedy that features much more lame slapstick action than bouncing beast.
Danny Graydon, Empire Magazine
Brainless and inane, this is for undemanding kids only.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Parents beware: this film is too crude, violent and offensive for younger viewers.
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Oh, how I wish I didn't know 'Jack'.
Neil Smith, BBC
It's a thin, tedious caper only notable for its impressive Outback locations and a cameo from Christopher Walken that proves the word 'no' isn't in his vocabulary.
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly
No one seems to have any idea whether this is an action movie, a comedy, a kid's movie or perhaps a bizarre experiment in kangaroo torture.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A competent and workmanlike action-adventure romp for kids, briefly enlivened by a funny cameo from Christopher Walken.
Ian Waldron-Mantgani, UK Critic
The movie is crap, but no more so than you'd expect from something with [i]Kangaroo Jack[/i] on the title card and Jerry Bruckheimer's name under the producer credit.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
I suppose gangsters, hit men, attempted murder, car crashes, and alcoholism pass for family entertainment these days. The clincher for kids is the flatulence.
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
If you can imagine how painful it would be to wander aimlessly lost for days on end through the Australian outback, that's how the eighty-nine minutes of this film go by.
Nick Rogers, State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
David McNally basically made a mob comedy, realized it wasn't funny and then added in computer-generated shots of the kangaroo that didn't require paying actors for reshoots.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
O personagem-título aparece pouco ao longo da projeção: se somarmos todas as suas cenas, é possível que o resultado não passe de 15 minutos. E se estes 15 minutos já são ruins, imaginem os 75 minutos restantes...
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
If only Walken had met up with the kangaroo...

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Directors C

It has a few moments of great hilarity and Anderson in the supporting role is hilarious but the acting of everyone else is bad and it completely misses it's target audience. Kangaroo Jack is one of those stupid movies that try to suck it up to the parents by feeding them adult… More
It has a few moments of great hilarity and Anderson in the supporting role is hilarious but the acting of everyone else is bad and it completely misses it's target audience. Kangaroo Jack is one of those stupid movies that try to suck it up to the parents by feeding them adult humour, but it's too gross for a movie like this. Or is it?
Dean M

Fine Ausralian-based, American-produced comedy about two best friends (Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson) lure on their adventures to the outback with a frisky kangaroo. Cool car chases and planet stunts frame kid-pleasing jokes: camel farts, ants in the pants, etc.
KJ P

I don't know why people don't like it! I find it increadibly ammusing!
Conner R

While it's not particularly good, it's a harmless movie. It has some shining moments every now and then, but it's a little to childish. This movie really had no audience, it's not a kids movie and it's definitely not for adults. It's just sort of a… More
While it's not particularly good, it's a harmless movie. It has some shining moments every now and then, but it's a little to childish. This movie really had no audience, it's not a kids movie and it's definitely not for adults. It's just sort of a mediocre attempt.
Randy T

Stinker!!
Lanning :

I'm having another one of those mirages, and this one's a beauty. <p> Definitely one of the highest ranked on my all-time guilty-pleasure list. The kangaroo is adorable, and it's possibly the best you'll ever see Estella Warren look. Whoo hoo!… More
I'm having another one of those mirages, and this one's a beauty. <p> Definitely one of the highest ranked on my all-time guilty-pleasure list. The kangaroo is adorable, and it's possibly the best you'll ever see Estella Warren look. Whoo hoo! Coincidentally, Warren herself is also about as high up my guilty-pleasure list as she can be : ) Oh, Canada! Brains and beauty. Yup, it's a cliché -- but clichés become clichés for a reason. <p>All right, I admit it, this is the most romantic moment of my life -- <p> And now it's over.
Tim S

This is what happens when you are trapped on a plane for eight hours and you cannot sleep even though you have taken two valium which gave me flashbacks of my early college years and only made me really want a cigarette. I was really surprised to see Micheal Shannon AND Christopher… More
This is what happens when you are trapped on a plane for eight hours and you cannot sleep even though you have taken two valium which gave me flashbacks of my early college years and only made me really want a cigarette. I was really surprised to see Micheal Shannon AND Christopher Walken in this film. I fucking loathe Jerry Brukheimer and myself for watching this film.
Film C

funny and stupid and a bit predictable but funny
Sanjaya &

hmm...
Dillon L

What the fuck is this?
George R

Let's all get one thing straight, the only reason anyone went to go watch this movie was because of the talking kangaroo from the previews, seriously (guilty). And yet, when the scene finally came into the movie, it wasn't even worth it. I expected this movie to be… More
Let's all get one thing straight, the only reason anyone went to go watch this movie was because of the talking kangaroo from the previews, seriously (guilty). And yet, when the scene finally came into the movie, it wasn't even worth it. I expected this movie to be hilarious, & was it? Fuck no! It's way too damn inappropriate for a PG rating, & the jokes in here are so painfully unfunny that they hurt my brain (the bathroom scene was the closest thing to making me laugh). Plot/Story: The two main characters are heading into the Australian outback to deliver some money given to them by the main character's evil stepfather, in which this case, the money is illegal. THe two travel for a while, they then run over a kangaroo, they pick him up, dress him, & he wakes up, scaring them both & runs off with the jacket that had the money. Now the two have to find 'Jack' (the kangaroo) & get the money back, which then turns the movie more violent & sexual for a PG rating. The film turns predictable after a while. Effects: The CGI used for the Kangaroo was cheap. The scene everyone wanted to see him sing/talk wasn't even all that well done. It wasn't funny, nor worth it (just like Snow dogs). The scene lasted only a small amount of minutes, & the other characters from the movie which became kangaroos themselves in the mirage. Acting: It wasn't all that great. It was decent, but not worth talking about. Jokes: They're not even funny. The bathroom scene was the only worthwhile joke to listen to, but even that scene was unoriginal. Actors/Characters: Jerry O'Connel is a great actor, but he usually plays an extremely idiotic character in the majority of his movies, & this movie is a prefect example to that. His character was unoriginal, & moronic. Then Anthony Anderson plays his usual, stupid, but comical character, but even he wasn't worth the movie. Then we have Christopher Walken, who is always an amazing actor, but tends to play an forgettable character. The rest of the cast & characters are forgettable. Final summation, this movie isn't a family movie, it's too damn stupid, & inappropriate for kids.
Juan C

an enjoyable and funny family movie with lots of glee and fun for a family to keep on hopping silly. A
Deb S

Two Brooklyn men, Charlie Carbone and Louis Booker, are tricked by Sal Maggio, Charlie's Step-father (Christopher Walken) into flying to Australia to deliver a large sum of money ($50000) to a subsidiary of the mob situated in the Outback to pay for their execution. They place it… More
Two Brooklyn men, Charlie Carbone and Louis Booker, are tricked by Sal Maggio, Charlie's Step-father (Christopher Walken) into flying to Australia to deliver a large sum of money ($50000) to a subsidiary of the mob situated in the Outback to pay for their execution. They place it in a jacket pocket for safe keeping, and the jacket winds up on a kangaroo who makes off with it, and they spend the rest of the movie trying to catch up with said kangaroo <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2j2agsw" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/2j2agsw.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> We've got some action, we've got some comedy and we've got love interest in the form of the gorgeous Estella Warren at her sexiest best! <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=ru1cwm" target="_blank"><img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/ru1cwm.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>
Yinalí R

Awesome movie, really funny.
Mike T

Two bumbling idiots yell a lot while chasing a CGI kangaroo for ninety minutes. Loud, stupid and annoying.
Andrew F

I liked the kangaroo, but I hated everyone and everything else. The commercials made it sound like the kangaroo talks, but he only does in a dream. How stupid.
Barry L

Surreal but very funny
Leo L

Loved this film.