the audience applauded

Powerful

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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

The pre-internet online communications in "Jumpin' Jack Flash" might be the main thing that interests you, but you should watch the movie for much more than that. Having established herself as a serious actress in "The Color Purple", Whoopi Goldberg plays a sassy bank employee who inadvertently gets herself involved in international espionage.The funniest scenes are when Goldberg gets herself worked up into a frenzy and starts verbally tearing people a new one. Along with the scene in the British consulate. Penny Marshall's directorial debut is basically an excuse for Goldberg to be as nutty as possible. In some scenes she has a little help, as in the phone booth scene. It's just a funny movie, and I suspect that they had a lot of fun filming it. Also starring Stephen Collins, Jonathan Pryce, John Wood (Prof. Falken in "WarGames"), Jeroen Krabbé, Jim Belushi, Carol Kane, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Annie Potts (Janeane in "Ghostbusters" and Bo Peep in "Toy Story"), Tracey Ullman and Michael McKean.A sad irony is that I'm reviewing this on September 11, and the movie opens with a shot of the Twin Towers.

I have to admit to liking this film. I'm not sure or not how well it did on its release. I don't think there are any spoilers in revealing that Whoopi plays a computer genius who is contacted by a guy who needs her help (since it says so on the back of the DVD!). So as well as a comedy, there are some thrills thrown in as well.It's well written, with some pretty obvious stuff in there, but it makes it kind of fun. Whoopi Goldberg puts in a good performance. Today it's fun to watch because the computers are SO out of date and because at one point Whoopi hits about 40 keyboard keys to type the work 'Hi"! Just listen to the sound of the keys. Whoopi's a good actress and comedian, but she's no typist - at least by the evidence here. And it's good to see Carol Kane and Stephen Collins, who both look about 12.There are some fabulous continuity errors as well for anyone looking for them - in the scene in the police station, not only does the blanket Whoopi's wearing change places from scene to scene, so does her collar.If you want a fun film that won't stretch your brain, this is well worth a look. Ingmar Bergman it isn't, but it's a nice feel good movie for those times when you just want to sit down and turn your brain off it's great. And if you want to know what computers used to look like and why you practically needed a second mortgage for somewhere to store them look no further.

This movie has always been one of my favorite 80s movies. Is the plot particularly original? Nah. But I have always found bits and pieces of it to be funny enough to make me lose my breath.I like the pseudo-detective/spy work that Terry Doolittle accomplishes, especially the rough ways in which she accomplishes it. This may very well be the first computer romance movie. In that capacity, it provides a somewhat cute look at computers and even at office politics in the 80s. I don't think even Richard Pryor's characters can match the charming Terry Doolittle. Between her rough language and wild clothes, she's quite original.