The Couch Critic
The Couch Critic is your laid-back guide to movies and TV shows that deserve your attention—or maybe don’t. Nathan dives deep into storytelling, character development, and cinematic style with a sharp eye and a wry sense of humor. Whether it’s a blockbuster hit, a hidden gem, or a cult classic, Nathan’s relatable approach ensures every episode feels like a cozy chat with a friend who just happens to love film. Perfect for casual watchers and cinephiles alike, The Couch Critic brings thoughtful critique without the fluff. Grab your favorite snack, settle in, and let Nathan guide you through the world of screen entertainment.
The Couch Critic
Frosty Disappointments: An Honest Review of Jack Frost
Get ready to dive into the heartwarming yet confusing world of Jack Frost with this week’s episode. Infused with warmth and humor, Nathan navigates through Michael Keaton's layered performance, discussing how a snowman grapples with family struggles and personal dreams. Did you know George Clooney almost played Jack? And what about the emotional turmoil within the father-son relationship?
This episode invites listeners to reflect on their own family dynamics as Nathan dissects scenes that make you laugh and cry. He weighs in on the film's charm and flaws, pondering how loss intersects with holiday traditions. As nostalgia washes over, Nathan connects the dots between sentiment and the complexities of longing for connection, all while sharing trivia that brings the film's production to life.
Join Nathan this week as he explores what makes Jack Frost both an enchanting and puzzling family film. Don't forget to subscribe, share your thoughts, and tune in next week for a classic film review with a surprise special guest!
On the couch. We're laughing, crying, feeling it all, breaking down the big screen, the hits and the flaws. Grab your seat, press play. Let's take the pic. Lights camera action. Episode of the Couch Critic. I'm your host.
Speaker 2:Nathan, and thank you for joining me on this journey of Christmas movies. Today's episode is about a movie I had never seen before, so that is very rare. Usually, all the movies I talk about are movies that I have seen before, but I have never seen this one, so let's talk about it. I'm talking about Jack Frost, the family film starring Michael Keaton as Jack Frost, kelly Preston as Gabby Frost, joseph Cross as Charlie Frost and Mark Addy as Mac McArthur. And here is a bit of trivia about this movie. Again, this is a movie I've never seen before, so anything to me is trivia. So here we go. Did you know that George Clooney was originally attached to star in this movie? Did you know that George Clooney was originally attached to star in this movie but he dropped out to star in Batman and Robin, which is funny because then they got Michael Keaton to step in and star, and Michael Keaton, of course, is known as Batman.
Speaker 2:Before Michael Keaton, mel Gibson was also considered for this film, but he decided to turn it down to do a little movie called Conspiracy Theory, which is a great movie. If you've never seen it, go watch Conspiracy Theory, it's great. Also, this movie was released one year after a horror film called Jack Frost. That movie was about a serial killer, snowman, which is crazy. And yes, I have watched it and it's uh, it's, pretty terrible. It's a pretty bad movie. So let's speaking of likes and dislikes of movies, let's jump into my likes and dislikes of jack frost. First, the acting was decent. That's probably the only like I have about this movie. Just like with the babe review last week, this movie's, this movie review is probably going to be a short, sweet and to the point, the acting was decent. Mich Michael Keaton does a fair enough job in a movie that I. Nowadays.
Speaker 2:I think Michael Keaton is an underrated actor. I think he is a great as craft he's. His performances in some of the most most recent stuff I've seen him in has been really, really good, and I think this was at a point in his life where he had just done, you know, batman movies, and so he was kind of rolling in the dough and I don't know if this is one of those movies that he was like you know what? Sure, why not, I'll go ahead and do it. And so he did this film and I think he was actually trying to do a good job and I think he succeeded, even though majority of the movie he is a talking snowman. Yeah, so that is. My biggest like is that the acting was decent. My dislike so I don't want to spoil the whole movie.
Speaker 2:But the whole premise is michael keaton plays this guy. He's a musician, he goes on tour with his band all the time and he just finds out that they're about to sign this big label, and part of that big label is mingling with high society on Christmas. That's right, this meeting is on Christmas and he decides to do it and it just so happens to conflict with a family trip to a cabin, and, of course, rightfully so. His son is angry because not only did this happen, but previously his dad had missed a big hockey game for something he was doing with his band as well. So I can understand to a certain extent why the son would be slightly upset. Yes, the father missed the hockey game, but he came home and he kind of made up for it. You know they I I thought they worked things out based on the conversation that they had in the movie.
Speaker 2:So what I don't get is this isn't really a spoiler, but michael keaton's character dies after changing his mind about missing Christmas with his band, he changes his mind. He says, hey, you know what, I want to spend time with my family. And so he's driving in the snow and it starts snowing really, really heavy and he dies. And the son was waiting for him to come to the cabin and he never shows up because again he dies. And so, like I think, a year later the son is just so upset with his dad and he acts like his dad neglected him all of the time. He acts like his dad neglected him all of the time, which the movie never shows that the dad was neglectful. He he was doing his best to provide for his family while also pursuing his dreams, and he was getting to a place where he was about to be able to do both. And he did talk about it with his family. He talked about it with his wife and she was pretty supportive of it, actually was so angry with his father, especially if you find out the reason your dad didn't contact you was because he fricking died. And yet you still hold that against him and say, well, at least he spent time with somebody, or at least you had interest in something somebody, or at least you had interest in something, not his son. I'm like what you literally found out, that the reason you're the only reason your dad didn't show up to the cabin was because he died.
Speaker 2:Like I don't, I didn't understand the amount of what I saw as hatred towards his dad and, yeah, they bonded a little bit. But the biggest thing that happened when his dad came back as a snowman was he threw some snowballs really quick, kind of like the movie elf, which elf came after this movie and then he taught him some hockey moves. So it kind of it kind of reminded me of of how I didn't get how quickly the brother and elf bonded with will ferrell just because of a snowball fight and then after that they were like best friends. That's kind of how I thought about this movie. Like I didn't understand why he was so mad at his dad and then he got over it super quick because his dad helped him with a snowball fight and he was. He was okay very quickly with his dad being a snowman.
Speaker 2:This movie just didn't make any sense to me. It's one of those movies that I'm like why did they think this was a good idea? How did they think that the premise of this movie would sell tickets? I don't know how well this movie did in the box office. I'm assuming it did not do well just by the premise. And, yeah, I don't think this movie did well in the box office. I could do my research, but I don't want to.
Speaker 2:So, like I said, this is going to be a short and sweet and to the point review of a movie that I didn't really enjoy. So that is my thoughts on Jack Frost, and my Christmas rating for this movie would be a 3.5 out of five. I don't necessarily think you need the theme of Christmas. Yes, there's snow and yes, he was trying to go home and spend time with his family for Christmas. But you could do this storyline with anything and snow can happen at any time. It just, I guess, makes more sense for it to be close to Christmas. For the sentimental value and for a general rating, I'm going to give it a low two out of five stars. So that my friends is the movie Jack Frost, and next week I'm going to review a classic and I'm going to have a special guest on the episode. I'm not going to even do a quote, I'm just going to leave you hanging and make you guess what I'm going to be talking about on Tuesday's episode next week of the Couch Critic, where every movie gets its close up.
Speaker 1:It's not just a movie, it's a way of life. We'll watch it together, day or night, so settle in close and don't miss a flick. This is the moment for the couch critic.
