Last Post: 10:26:31pm, 05/18/2024
Thanks Lasa. Sorry I haven't been able to watch anything. But my dad was feeling some Robin Williams, so we watched something... different tonight.
Jumanji (1995)
Written by: Jonathan Hensliegh, Greg Taylor, Jim Strain, Chris Van Allsburg
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Starring: Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, David A. Grier, Bonnie Hunt, Bradley Pierce
Previous status: Never seen
"In the jungle, you must wait, until the dice read 5 or 8."
Let's just say I wasn't expecting much, but it was still kinda fun. A few good visual gags here and there, like the monkeys watching The Wizard of Oz, occasional funny lines, and also gun humor that is funny since this old-time military hunter appears in 19i95 and tries to buy a rifle with doubloons. Sure, it hasn't aged well. Neither has the Sir Sav-A-Lot sequence. The Home Alone trap was pretty funny, though.
Do gotta say that a prepubescent Kirsten Dunst still manages to be a star, and her character Judy is actually quite shrewd and clever. Her brother Peter (Pierce) is... there. Her ability to lie on the spot - and recognition of when it's necessary - would prove scary if she were older. Robin Williams himself is perfect for a man, Alan, who suddenly lost a quarter-century of his life, spending it trapped inside a board game, and suddenly accepting that the place he loved was something completely different now. His old buddy from his dad's shoe factory, Carl Bentley, is now a cop, disgruntled that his epic sneakers never came to fruition.
The CGI is truly incredible for 1995. Like the things at least look lifelike even if they're very clearly graphical renders that haven't aged well. As I've insisted before, I try my best to judge a movie based on its time, as movies often reflect the time in which they're released, even when set in another. I'd love to see how the CGI on the one with The Rock compares, even if that movie is probably bad.
Gotta say, the ending really hit hard. The Jumanji that Alan hit reset the timeline back to 1969. Alan apologizes to his father for overreacting, his father apologizes for trying to force him to go to boarding school, and Alan also admits that he put the sneaker on the conveyor, not Carl, which gets his dad to rehire Carl the next day. Alan dumps the game in the river. Not wanting to forget what happened when she and Alan were adults after their minds correct to the timeline (this whole thing is so Doctor Who), Sarah kisses him, they get married, and though they don't have kids named Judy and Peter, they meet the OGs at a Christmas party, and Alan and Sarah give them gifts, as well as tell their parents to not go on that ski trip, thus saving their lives. Also appears that Alan has just taken over his dad's business, and his father is still alive, not having poured all his energy into searching for his missing son. It's wholesome, and easily the best part of the movie. Then Jumanji surfaces on a beach in France years later....
All this said, there's really not much else here. Four people play a board game that comes to life and transform a little New England town into an African jungle. CGI ensues. It's a family movie. The ending is awesome. And really, that ending is what got this movie some major bonus points. It's still not enough for me to give this one a glowing recommendation, but it's still enough for a 3/5.
---
Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered!
RIP Bob Barker (1923 - 2023) - and thanks for all the memories.