Quick Review: Jack Frost (1998)

JACK FROST

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JANUARY 14, 2014

For some reason, whether it was because it was always on cable around Christmas or because it had Michael Keaton in it, I’ve seen “Jack Frost” more times than I can remember, and to be perfectly honest, I enjoy it every time. Keaton plays a musician father that is just about to break into the music industry with his band, but in doing so, he is leaving his beautiful wife (Kelly Preston) and his son (Joseph Cross) in the dust. When he misses his son’s hockey game and then has to bail on a Christmas trip to the cabin, Jack (Keaton) decides to give it up and head back to his family. Sadly, on the way, he has a car accident and dies, which is truly heartbreaking. But thanks to the “magic” harmonica that he gives his son after missing his game, he is brought back to life in the form of a snowman, an annual activity the father and son once shared. Given a strange second chance, Jack uses this time to spend with his son, whose mental frailty is constantly in question as he begins spending a strange amount of time with a snowman. Thanks in part to the Jim Henson creature shop, the snowman effects are impeccable, feeling very real and creating a character that is most often than not, completely believable, helped by the great voice acting by Keaton. However, some of the special effects, mainly during the downhill sled chase, the effects fall off in quality tremendously. “Jack Frost” may not be the most conventional holiday film but it has stayed with me since I was a child and continues to fascinate me with its ridiculous premise and tragic demeanor.