Jack the Bear
| Jack the Bear | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Marshall Herskovitz |
| Written by | Steven Zaillian |
| Produced by | Bruce Gilbert Peter Burrell |
| Starring | Danny DeVito Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. Miko Hughes Gary Sinise |
| Cinematography | Fred Murphy |
| Edited by | Steven Rosenblum |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date | April 2, 1993 |
Running time | 99 min. |
| Country |  |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $5,145,462 |
Jack the Bear is a 1993 comedy-drama film starring Danny DeVito. It is based on a novel by Dan McCall.
Plot
Jack Leary (Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.), his younger brother Dylan Leary (Miko Hughes) and father John (Danny DeVito) start over in 1972 Oakland following the death of the boys' mother.
John is a comedy/horror TV personality, entertaining his viewing audience during horror movies. He is devoted to his two sons, though his drinking problem disrupts the smooth running of the household, as some of his parental duties fall to Jack.
A neighbor, Norman Strick (Gary Sinise) shows up at their home one Halloween evening, seeking a donation for a racially-prejudiced candidate. John refuses, and shuts the door in Norman's face. Obviously bothered that Norman lives across the street, John gets drunk, and his performance on his TV show mimics the racially-charged beliefs of his neo-Nazi neighbor. He is subsequently asked to take time off from his show.
The morning after John's performance, Jack finds Norman's dog, Cheyenne, dead on their front lawn. Jack encourages John to talk to Norman about it, and though John apologizes for his actions on television and insists he did not poison Cheyenne, Norman refuses to shake John's hand.
Jack had a young love affair with Karen Morris (Reese Witherspoon), but after his father's disastrous performance on television, she breaks up with him. Jack's world begins to tear apart, and the pressure of filling in for his father begins to take its toll. He begins to take out his anger on Dylan, is seen taking a drink just like his father, and he begins to swear and curse whenever he is angry.
Dylan disappears and next-door neighbor Dexter claims Norman kidnapped him. Jack calls the police and he and John are extremely worried until Dylan is found in a nearby forest. While Norman did not physically hurt him, being abandoned in the woods for so long has left Dylan traumitized and appears left unable to speak by it. Norman has vanished, and days later, Dylan still has not spoken. John takes out his frustration by going to Norman's home with a bat. He is not there, and after John briefly terrorizes the man's parents, he destroys Norman's beloved T-Bird with the bat.
John's in-laws, who always disapproved of him, take the boys to their Los Angeles home. Jack decides that he cannot handle the parenting methods of his grandfather (who is always lecturing, and not fun like his father--a realization by Jack that he 'does' love his father), and sneaks back to his home. John is out, and Jack goes to sleep in his own bed.
John arrives home and shortly after, Jack is awoken by the electricity going off. Here, we see that Norman has gained entry to the home. Jack knows there is an intruder, and he accidentally knocks John out with a bat. Norman says "Home run, Jack", and chases Jack upstairs and out the bathroom window. Jack jumps for a branch in a nearby tree, and Norman pursues him. John has recovered, and yells from the window, warning the neo-Nazi to stay away from his son. Jack screams for his father. As Norman crawls toward him, Jack watches in horror as the man falls into his neighbor's yard and is attacked by the neighbor's Doberman Pinschers.
In the end scene, Jack is playing his mother's favorite song and asks a still mute Dylan what it was. He doesn't appear to remember. Jack, then breaks down crying and tells John that "Nothing is right." "Then we're going to make it all right." John answers, adding "Daddy's here" as he and his son embrace. Dylan, then, comes over and answers "Jack the Bear." All three embrace emotionally.
Days go by and John appears to clean up his act, he gets his job back at the television studio, and appears to have quit drinking. One afternoon, the neighborhood children all appear and ask if John will play a monster game with them (something he was popular for doing with the kids). However, after his experiences with Norman, he tells the children he won't play monster game anymore. When they ask him why, John sees Dexter (one of the neighborhood children, who use to be part of Jack's group of friends). Dexter, who has a something of a side story in the movie and comes from a broken home with his grandparents, has now strayed from his friends after he had become acquainted with Norman.
As John watches Dexter smoking a cigarette, realizing he's going down a dark path. John looks to the children that there are real monsters out there, but he promises to play another better game with them. The final scene fades as John watches his sons playing in the front yard.
Cast
- Danny DeVito as John Leary
- Robert J. Steinmiller Jr. as Jack Leary
- Miko Hughes as Dylan Leary
- Gary Sinise as Norman Strick
- Art LaFleur as Mr. Festinger
- Carl Gabriel Yorke as Gordon Layton
- Stefan Gierasch as Father-in-Law
- Andrea Marcovicci as Elizabeth Leary
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Peggy Etinger
- Reese Witherspoon as Karen Morris
- Lee Garlington as Mrs. Festinger
Awards and nominations
1994 Young Artist Awards
- Won – Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Actress: Reese Witherspoon
- Nominated – Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Actor: Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
- Nominated – Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor 10 or Younger: Miko Hughes