Main Cast: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Taryn Manning, Kelly Rowan, Vanessa Parise, Robert Forster
Release Year: 2007
Country: US/CA
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A man learns about life and love from someone who has only so much of each to spare in this romantic comedy-drama. Jack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is an advertising executive in his early Thirties who has grown jaded before his time; he devotes his life to his work but doesn't believe in it, and is trapped in a cycle of habits and routines. One day, Jack meets Jill (Taryn Manning), a beautiful young woman who clearly has no idea how to get around New York; Jack helps give her directions and is soon taken by her charm and enthusiasm for life, even if he's too cynical to share her sunny optimism. Learning that Jill needs a place to stay, Jack offers to let her stay at his place, and while the arrangement is meant to be platonic, it doesn't take long for a romance to blossom between them. Jill encourages them to develop a manifesto for responsible and compassionate living and Jack's heart begins to open up, but when Jill begins disappearing in the evenings he suspects that something is wrong. While Jack imagines at first that Jill's met someone else, the truth is more serious -- she's living with cystic fibrosis and despite regular treatments has only so much time left. Jack and Jill Vs. The World was written, produced and directed by Vanessa Parise, who also appears in the supporting cast with Robert Forster and Charles Martin Smith. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jason L. Wood - Casting, Robin Dunne - Co-producer, Vanessa Parise - Director, Mathew Booth - Editor, David Ostry - Editor, Gareth C. Scales - Editor, Michael Jaffe - Executive Producer, Freddie Prinze, Jr. - Executive Producer, Scott J. Sloan - Executive Producer, Jordan Gertner - Executive Producer, Nicholas Tabarrok - Executive Producer, Stephen Hays - Executive Producer, Peter Graham - Executive Producer, Jeremy Parise - Composer (Music Score), Peter Cosco - Production Designer, Fred Guthe - Cinematographer, Roger Spottiswoode - Producer, Nicholas Tabarrok - Producer, Vanessa Parise - Producer, Peter Stebbings - Screen Story, Peter Stebbings - Screenwriter, Vanessa Parise - Screenwriter
Jack (Prinze Jr.) is a thirty-something New York City advertising executive, living a life forged from routine. He is successful and stylish... and extremely bored. then, he meets Jill (Manning). They meet by chance on a rooftop, and move in together by week's end. Together, they piece together a playful manifesto of "rules to live by." Jack's best friend and business partner, George (Stebbings), notices a more playful side to Jack's usual cynicism, and wants to meet the cause.
Jill's free-spirited nature causes some friction, however. When her long absences go unexplained, Jack forces Jill to confess that her disappearances are a result of the treatment she needs for cystic fibrosis, an ultimately terminal illness. Jack is furious with Jill for violating their pact of honesty, and they break up.
A talk with his father Norman (Forster) incites Jack to find Jill. Jack tracks down her wacky friend, Lucy (Parise), and pleads his case. Convinced that he truly loves Jill, Lucy admits that Jill is catching a Greyhound bus cross-country to Hollywood. Jack reevaluates his life, and just as he quits his job, a bomb threat is called in at his work. Jack goes outside and is surprised to find the culprit is Jill. The two make up, and with their new dog in tow, they hit the highway... with no destination in sight except for a life together.
Jack and Jill's Manifesto of Rules to Live By
Rule 1 Be honest Rule 2 Believe in fairy tales Rule 3 Accept time as our friend Rule 4 Make sure the nooky is good Rule 5 Promote beauty. Wage a sustained campaign against ugliness Rule 6 Abandon the pursuit of happiness and its false promise Rule 7 Show compassion, except to pirates Rule 8 Less TV Rule 9 Always be willing to admit when you're wrong
Reception
The film garnered a mixed reception from critics. According to Reel Film reviews it "ultimately establishes itself as an affable endeavor that benefits substantially from the charismatic work of its two leads."[1] But Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times concluded that it is "Blind to the fact that it should be rising up against its own formulaic kind."[2]
