Better Late Then Never

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

JUMPIN' JACK FLASH is one of those high-energy 1980s-era comedies that works well thanks to the mixing up of thriller aspects in the storyline. It's my favourite Whoopi Goldberg-starring role, much better than more family-oriented fare like SISTER ACT, because it has lots of character and lots of edge. Goldberg plays a computer work - love that 1980s-era technology - who is contacted by a spy via her PC monitor (yes, really) and soon gets involved in an espionage plot. There are crazy chase scenes, a demented James Belushi as an assassin, and some other thriller-type aspects that gel together pretty well. The thing that holds this all together is Goldberg herself, warm, funny, likeable, quick-mouthed and a unique persona.

Plot: Terry works for a bank, and uses computers to communicate with clients all over the world. One day she gets a coded message from an unknown source. After decoding the message, Terry becomes embroiled in an espionage ring. People are killed, and Terry is chased. Throughout she remains in contact with this unknown person, who needs Terry to help save his life.This is easily my favorite Whoopi Goldberg film, it has the best story that is very interesting and very well told by director Penny Marshall. Each character is interesting in their own ways. Every actor does their character justice and serve their purpose to the story.The film is well paced, never boring, and is unpredictable. If only comedies these days would be more like this, then they would be a lot easier to sit through. If you can find this film give it a chance, it's definitely worth it.

It was a production beset with problems, a change of director (Penny Marshall replacing the jettisoned Howard Zieff) and enough script writers used to fill out a hockey team. So it's unsurprising to find that Jumpin' Jack Flash is a bit muddled, not fully formed as it were.Plot finds Whoopi Goldberg as a computer programmer thrust into a world of espionage when a plea for help appears on her monitor. Cue Whoopi following instructions from a guy claiming to be trapped in Eastern Europe, which of course leads to a number of fun scenes as she bluffs her way around the crooked underworld she now finds herself in. Will she stay alive long enough? Who are the undercover guys? Is the mysterious man on the computer screen really all he proclaims to be?It will all be answered in rank and file 1980s action comedy time, which as it happens is OK here because Goldberg is a good enough comedy actress to hold the attention. Nothing remotely smart or genre defining exists, but it's a fun snapshot of the burgeoning computer age in the 80s and it's a good time waster if stuck for something light to watch one night. 6/10

Just recently caught the movie again on TV. While it still contained some great laughs, it also contained a very strong portrait of an African American woman that I never saw back when the movie first came out. Think about it--She's a computer operator, one of the first to be shown on screen "chatting" and skilled in hardware and software. She's gutsy, doesn't need a man to help her. She's independent, strong, and beautiful but not in a typical way. She's not a rock emotionally. You feel for here as she waits at the restaurant for Jack. You can feel the caring she shows for her friends, co-workers She still gets the man--a white man!-- in the end, at least that's the implication. All of this in 1986! This new perspective for the movie has certainly lifted it above all the dated material (Annie Potts' hair, the computer terminals) What a statement! Go Terr-eee!