Film Review: Philip Seymour Hoffman Stars in Directorial Debut ‘Jack Goes Boating’

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CHICAGO – One of the best working actors takes his skills behind camera in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Jack Goes Boating,” a character drama about one couple forming as another relationship falls apart at the same time. This gentle story of modern relationships is a subtle, slow-moving drama of moments and repercussions that works due to the talents of its cast and quality of its source material despite a few notable flaws.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Hoffman plays Jack, an awkward-but-gentle soul who it seems has had difficulty meeting the right girl. He works as a driver with the troubled Clyde (John Ortiz), a man who often buries the problems in his marriage to Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) in booze but also clearly loves his friend Jack. The married pair chooses to set Jack up with one of Lucy’s co-workers, a shy woman named Connie (Amy Ryan). After their first date, Jack begins a process of self-improvement to ensure he won’t disappoint his new blossoming romance. He takes cooking lessons to prepare a memorable meal and Clyde teaches him to swim for the day, months from now, when Jack and Connie can go boating.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Jack Goes Boating” in our reviews section.

As played by Hoffman, Jack is not your typical movie man-child. He’s a driver, so he must get along with people. But it feels like he’s never met a woman who inspired him to action before Connie. And the action taken by Jack inspires Clyde to take a look at his own life and realize that there are issues in his marriage that could use some action of their own. It builds to a climactic dinner as both relationships reach their inevitable turning point.

Based on a play by Robert Glaudini (in which Hoffman, Ortiz, and Rubin-Vega starred), “Jack Goes Boating” is a subtle, slow-moving character piece of small moments with large repercussions. When Connie tells Jack that she’d like to someday go boating, she probably has no idea that it will inspire him to take swimming lessons and that Jack’s commitment could arguably be the inspiration that pushes Clyde to his breaking point. I’ve always had a soft spot for fictional tales of the ripple effect of small actions and, on a screenwriting level, I adore that aspect of “Jack Goes Boating.” We do and say things every day that could have drastic impacts beyond our wildest imaginations.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Jack Goes Boating” review.

Jack Goes Boating
Photo credit: Overture Films