New This Week
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

38 12 Rounds
xx Baby on Board
xx Bob Funk
62 Cherry Blossoms
38 Confessions of a Shopaholic
38 Crossing Over
38 Dark Streets
58 Defiance
45 Fanboys
31 Fired Up
37 Forever Strong
34 Friday the 13th
72 Gran Torino
47 He's Just Not That Into You
47 Inkheart
52 International, The
45 Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
50 Madea Goes to Jail
51 Morning Light
51 My Bloody Valentine 3-D
29 New in Town
28 Nobel Son
40 Outlander
39 Paul Blart: Mall Cop
56 Phoebe in Wonderland
36 Pink Panther 2
xx Powder Blue
69 Revolutionary Road
20 Spinning Into Butter
17 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
64 Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63 Tokyo!
74 Two Lovers
56 Valkyrie
91 Waltz with Bashir
22 What Goes Up

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Kangaroo Jack
Warner Bros.


4.4

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 39 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for language, crude humor, sensuality and violence

Starring Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Christopher Walken, Dyan Cannon, Michael Shannon, Marton Csokas, and David Ngoombujarra

Two friends from Brooklyn are forced to deliver mob money to Australia. Their misadventures begin when a kangaroo hops off with the cash.

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Steve Bing (also story) Scott Rosenberg Barry O'Brien (story)
DIRECTED BY:	David McNally
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 24, 2003 Video: June 24, 2003 Theatrical: January 17, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	97 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

USA Today Mike Clark

Jumps at chance to be silly.

Miami Herald Christine Dolen

Highbrow entertainment this isn't.

Philadelphia Inquirer Karen Heller

This salt-and-pepper buddy movie set in the scenic environs of downtown Brooklyn and the Australian bush is a crowd-pleaser -- for the elementary-school set.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Will parents be able to sit through Kangaroo Jack without plunging sharp sticks into their eyes? The short answer? Yes. Barely.

Chicago Reader Bill Stamets

Likable but negligible.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A dumb, by-the-numbers children's movie.

Chicago Tribune Loren King

The film's crude humor and violence -- cartoonish, but still violent -- should offend parents of younger kids. Yet its ultra-broad, pratfall-filled comedy will satisfy only the most indiscriminate teens.

TV Guide Steve Simels

This fish-out-of-water buddy/action comedy is aimed squarely at undiscriminating 10-year-olds, and that demographic may well enjoy it.

Film Threat Kevin Carr

Run -- don’t walk -- from this film or you might end up watching a bad CGI character do a painful Dr. Evil impression.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The 'roo doesn't talk, except in a dream sequence…I'm dying here.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

In the life-is-too-short category, file Kangaroo Jack as a sub-Farrelly Brothers, dumb-plus-dumber buddy picture.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A desert of shrill juvenile jokes and clanging chase sequences.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Lame comedy.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The kangaroo is devoid of charm, as are the actors, who have the chemistry of fingernails on a blackboard.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Hop away from this one fast!

Variety Joe Leydon

For auds unwilling or unable to grapple with the subtle nuances of "Scooby Doo," Warners now gives us Kangaroo Jack, a shrill and silly farce.

LA Weekly Jon Strickland

Bruckheimer shifts from high-concept historical romance "Pearl Harbor" and high-concept T&A "Coyote Ugly" to a first attempt at high-concept light comedy, yet only his fondness for dragging acting talent down with him carries over.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

Indeed, the largely computer-generated Jack acts the pants off his co-stars, which can and should be taken with a whole trough full of salt.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Were it not for the involvement of producer Bruckheimer, who has made billions by conning millions into believing they can't live without his celluloid crack, it's doubtful Kangaroo Jack would even exist. As it stands now, the "movie" barely exists anyway.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

What better to do with such a quiet, majestic landscape than to liven it up with the noise and vulgarity of lowest-common-denominator American pop culture?

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Straight from the fiery, churning bowels of high-concept hell comes Kangaroo Jack, Bruckheimer's idea of kid-friendly fare, and some of the longest 90 minutes ever committed to film.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

There are two distinctive features to the movie: the mind-numbingly banal plot as one chases another who chases another, and all the offensive material.

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

88 minutes of desperate gyrations intended to simulate humor.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

It's fitting that the kangaroo gives the most lifelike performance.

Village Voice Joe McGovern

Virtually every shot of the kangaroo was digitally created, and perhaps that was an insurance policy masterstroke. Forcing a real live one to act opposite these co-stars could have easily constituted animal cruelty.

The average user rating for this movie is 4.4 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Evan H gave it a0:
I watched this movie when I was about 8 years old and I wasn't remotely amused by this.

K M gave it a9:
I'm not going to say anything about plot, but I liked this movie and it is also one of the first movies that introduced me to the comedic talent of Anthony Anderson.

Lauren S gave it a2:
Even for a children's movie, it is an extreme flop. I was a kid when it came out, and i saw it with my parents, they were absolutely disgusted and i was too! We left the theater, and as a teen, i've had enough of the losers saying it's the greatest movie in the world. For me, everyone has an opinion, but please, seriously, don't watch it. It's such a redneck movie.

Shaheem E. gave it a6:
The story is thin and the acting in hammy, but the movie was a lot of fun!

Clark W gave it an8:
I can't understand what is with all these critics. This movie, while a little over the top, is hilarious. It's a classic buddy-buddy action comedy. It's funny and fun and will appeal to both adult and child audiances.

Dave T. gave it a10:
This is the single greatest stoner movie of all time. Just after it came out i was a major stoner, and me and my mate would watch this movie every weekend. We loved it. god bless you kangaroo jack, i might have kicked the habit, but the memories will last a life time.

matt gave it a0:
The kangaroo talks? Huh. I didn't catch that because I was too busy sleeping through the whole movie.

Kangaroo Jack Warner Bros.

Kangaroo Jack
Warner Bros.