Jack is Francis Coppola at his most pointless noodling, looking for the film he wants to make instead of just making it. Robin Williams stars as 10-year-old Jack, a boy with an inexplicable disease that ages him at four times the normal human rate. Kept at home like a contemporary Boo Radley, Jack becomes a neighbourhood legend until his parents relent and send him to school. In time, the other kids befriend him and stay loyal as his hyperdevelopment puts a strain on his body and emotions. The idea is sound, but the execution is a bore. The best the script and Coppola can come up with are painfully long scenes in which Williams's character proves himself on the playground and in gross-out contests in a tree house. Coppola fishes around for signs of life and spontaneity in these scenes, but the film is actually best when Jack has to cope with certain feelings in his mature body (such as his attraction to a character played by Fran Drescher) that he isn't prepared for emotionally. Jack would have been a lot better if Coppola had embraced a plan from beginning to end and stuck to it. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

The story of a father and baby daughter, 1995's Jack and Sarah is the best cinematic depiction of what came to be known as "the 90s man". No matter how bad things get we know Richard E Grant will eventually learn to get in touch with his feelings and express his emotions. Grant plays Jack, whose reaction to the loss of his wife during childbirth is initially complete rejection followed by an alcoholic binge. Jack's family coax fatherhood from him easily enough however and this is where the film's heart lies. Brushing away the bitter beginning, Grant's comedic performance in juggling life around newborn baby Sarah is often hilarious: the image of the child in a sock hat being carried in a padded envelope is priceless. Bouncing off Grant's acting are some terrific cameos from Judi Dench as his stuffy mum and Sir Ian McKellen as a convincingly inebriated butler. Samantha Mathis plays an American waitress who provides a twist to the tale. There's genuine chemistry between her and Grant, specifically when they are both around the outrageously cute baby Sarah. Written and directed by Tim Sullivan, this is clearly a very personal expression of the meaning of family. Although backed by lots of Simply Red songs, it hopefully won't be one that's too quickly outdated.

On the DVD: The ratio is confusingly stated as "Widescreen 4:3". Effectively it's an anamorphic 1:66:1 presentation giving a tad more edge than its video predecessor. Sound is in Dolby surround. The minimal extras are four repetitive TV spots and two theatrical trailers. --Paul Tonks