Jack Goes Boating

I expected to like Jack Goes Boating, so perhaps that made me want to like it too. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has always been great, and to hear that he was directing and starring in a film was a joy. So here's the film, which centers upon two relationships. The first is between Jack (Hoffman) and Connie (Amy Ryan): they are possible lovers. The second is between Jack's friend Clyde (John Ortiz) and his wife (Daphne Rubin Vega). Jack is one of the most pathetic characters in movie history. He has nothing going for him except his prospects with Connie. He's trying desperately to become a better person as well, but Hoffman plays him with the same note throughout. He's either sad, or really sad. Connie is a weird one too, she's dysfunctional, but at times pretty weird and then abruptly serious (which doesn't fit her character). Clyde and his wife seem to be the opposite of Jack and Connie. For, as Jack & Connie's relationship is born, we see Clyde and his wife's relationship die. Everyone is so dysfunctional in this film that they become pathetic: especially Jack. This pathetic nature makes the film mawkish and uncomfortable, as it tries to be poignant while being odd and depressing. The only thing about Jack Goes Boating that is enjoyable is a couple of scenes at the pool with Jack and Clyde, but that's about 6 minutes within the entire film. The film also likes to employ indie songs like the Fleet Foxes, but it employs them terribly and at the wrong times (which feels amateurish and out of place). Indie songs and indie feels should be employed in films about youth and life and when the lyrics make some sense with the story, but with the overly maudlin and depressing Jack Goes Boating it feels forced and silly. This movie sucks, not only can we not connect with the characters because the writer thinks that three dimensional characters means they have split-personality, but because what happens ends up being a sort of dualism statement on life and perseverance after it hasn't gained the audience's trust to make such statements. Jack Goes Boating--a truly pretentious and awful film.
Jack Goes Boating: ✰