In a nutshell, Jack and Jill is about polar opposite twins. Ever the popular one, Jack (Adam Sandler) grew up to be a hotshot LA ad exec with a beautiful wife (Katie Holmes) and two adorable children. Jill (also Adam Sandler), on the other hand, has always been a little bit . . . different. Garbed in an endless array of garish prints, Technicolor belts, and kooky accessories, she's socially awkward to the nth degree and desperate for "twin time," a quality that seems to have grown stronger as a result of her and Jack's mother's recent death. When she visits Jack for Thanksgiving (with a fleet of luggage and her beloved cockatoo, Poopsie, in tow), she doesn't want to return home to the Bronx. Jill's antics carry on through Hanukkah, her and Jack's birthday, and the family cruise to Europe, during which time she's pursued by both Jack's gardener and, wonder of wonders, Al Pacino.
Now, what I'm about to say may seem a little strange. But in a weird way, I identified with Jill. Her wacky wardrobe and out-there personality sort of spoke to me, a feeling that was cemented when I spied her carrying a cherry-print XOXO handbag I own. Quirkiness is also alive and well in Jack's kids. His (adopted) son straps random objects to himself with tape, and his daughter always carries a doll dressed exactly like her. I was surprised to find myself laughing out loud at the want-to-hide-your-head-under-a-pillow humor (which was all the more conspicuous in a theater full of silent viewers).
Peppered with appearances by "Saturday Night Live" alums Tim Meadows, Norm MacDonald, David Spade, and Dana Carvey, Jack and Jill is a hoot that delivers holiday hilarity worth the price of admission.
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