Film: Kangaroo Jack
Release date: September 12, 2017
Tagline: It hopped its way to big money, but left a big wad of dung in our memories.
This review contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: Two In-Universe cases:
- Christopher Walken's (Salvatore Maggio) presence has the Critic quip that he'd give the film a chance if at some point he screams "This is not over! Kangaroos!"
- Seeing that Charlie Carbone is played by Jerry O'Connell, the Critic also claims he'd pay good money if Kangaroo Jack is actually one of the Alternate Universes explored in Sliders, where he plays Quinn Mallory, one of the four eponymous Dimensional Travelers.
- Alternate Character Interpretation: At the end, when Louis claims Charlie roped in him on their quest for redemption out of guilt, the Critic thinks it is an allegory of how the cast and crew were guilt-tripped into finishing the movie.
- Bait-and-Switch: The review begins with the Critic claiming he is about to see Samurai Jack, before Malcolm and Tamara have to remind him that he instead has to review Kangaroo Jack, much to his annoyance. At the end of the film he also claims he is reviewing The Green Mile, while expressing confusion that Ryan Reynolds has a role there as a superhero, only to be reminded by Malcolm, also much to his annoyance, that it's something else.
- Book Ends: The review begins and ends with a pair of Bait-and-Switch moments.
- Follow the Leader: The Critic claims that the tone of this film was changed from an adult-oriented mafia flick after seeing the success of Snow Dogs (one largely bore by marketing and not much else).
- Idiosyncratic Wipes: Some censure was reserved for the abuse of this trope, with the Critic contrasting it to those employed to a better effect in Hot Fuzz.
- Nightmare Fuel: The scene where Kangaroo Jack and a pair of kangaroos chant "chicken blood" has even the Critic, a normally emotionally strong person, feeling the need for a break.
- "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: The Critic claims he's not joking when he states that the cinematic high mark for animal comedy films of 2002 was Snow Dogs. He also claims the Superman theme playing as young Louis saving Charlie from drowning is actually in the movie soundtrack.
- Oh, Crap!: The Critic's reaction when Malcolm reminds him that he's reviewing Kangaroo Jack, and again at the end when he realizes that he's reviewing something else besides Green Mile.
- Running Gag: For a pair of Overly Long Gags featuring Toilet Humor, the Critic adds brief skits of a pair of screenwriters (Malcolm and Tamara) congratulating themselves over having thought up of those jokes.
- Sequel Hook: The review ends with the Critic reviewing a film that rhymes with Green Mile and stars Ryan Reynolds as a superhero. Then Malcolm whispers something to him, and he is visibly miffed when he realizes what he's going to review next.
- Shout-Out:
- The intense police chase at the start of the film has the Critic quip that the film is not Enemy of the State.
- When a truck full of fish crashes into two police cars, sending all its load spilling onto them, the infamous "That's a lot of fish" scene from Godzilla (1998) is played.
- Realizing that the bulk of the film is one huge chase between Kangaroo Jack and the Charlie/Louis duo, the Critic thinks that at most it could have passed up for those Looney Tunes shorts involving Sylvester Cat and Hippety Hopper the Boxing Kangaroo, before realizing it could be better if it also involved a crossover with Wile E. Coyote.
- At the scene of farting camels, the Critic sarcastically suggests that it is more appropriate for children than the thoughtfulness of Inside Out, claiming that its educational value (or the lack thereof) is going to send a lot of kids to summer schools.
- When Louis was hanging on for his life after he falls off his camel while trying to elude Frankie, the Critic thinks it would've been better had the film went the Thelma & Louise route (with its famous Bolivian Army Ending).
- Take That!:
- Charlie muttering Little "No"s to a pair of ladies who misunderstand his and Louis's conversation inside an airplane restroom has the Critic think that at that moment Jerry Bruckheimer envisioned making Shia LaBeouf rich with the Transformers Film Series, before realizing the damage it dealt on the latter's career.
- The Critic thinks the blatantly CGI Kangaroo Jack looks even more fake than Ice-T in Tank Girl.
- Kangaroo Jack rapping is compared to the rapping dog from Titanic: The Legend Goes On.
- A solo scene featuring Kangaroo Jack has the Critic wondering if it was simply added into the film because no one else would participate because they aren't making a real film, which he could say the same for the Joker and Harley's interactions.
- This Is Gonna Suck: The Critic's reaction to being forced to review Kangaroo Jack.
- Toilet Humor: The Critic lambasts the film for a pair of Overly Long Gags involving this trope—when Charlie and Louis inspect the $50,000 they are supposed to deliver inside an airplane restroom in a manner that sounded suggestive to outsiders, and while they and Jessie travel across the Outback on farting camels.
- Took the Bad Film Seriously: A tense standoff between Mr. Smith and Frankie has the Critic thinking that their actors were not told the title of the movie, lest they half-ass that scene.
- What Could Have Been: The Critic reminds the audience that the film was originally meant to be a simple mafia-centric Black Comedy geared more for adults, before Jerry Bruckheimer Films attempted to cash in to the success of Snow Dogs.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Critic being forced to review this movie, rather than a beloved Samurai Jack
