In the gloriously false Hollywood world of clown noses, pasteboard and padding, two wrongs may not make a right, but two misfits often are squeezed into a sweet world that they rarely can inhabit. Such is the case, with a nifty twist, of "Jack Goes Boating," a mostly sweet little movie that marks the directorial debut of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Hoffman, a superlative actor whose portrayal of Truman Capote was acting as fine as I've ever seen, is an Everyman. He drives a limousine for his uncle's firm, and everything he knows about life comes from Clyde (John Ortiz), a fellow-driver. Hoffman is round and pink, tubby as the Michelin Man, lacking in social skills and lumbering when he walks. But he's desirous of a romantic relationship, and willing to work for it, which is why he's learning to swim, under Clyde's tutelage. Clyde and his wife, Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega), are almost surrogate parents to Jack and they are trying to match him with Connie (Amy Ryan).
Ryan replaced Beth Cole in the role; the other leads are reprising their work in a play by Bob Glaudini (he also wrote the screenplay) that ran off-Broadway at the Labyrinth Theater Company, of which they are members.
Set in New York, though a New York far shabbier than the one in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," everyone struggles to survive, though they all have sights on something bigger and better. The dedicated Jack, learning to swim so he can take Connie in a rowboat on Central Park Lake, next takes cooking lessons because he told Connie he'd cook for her before realizing he has no idea of how to light a stove, much less cook on it. Hoffman struggles to succeed, and we pretty soon realize we're rooting for him.
Connie also is a misfit, in her own way, but suddenly Clyde and Lucy become the biggest misfits of all. As a director, Hoffman is generous enough to make sure his other actors get their share of screen time, but he is dominant in his very quiet way. Ryan is a delight, and so are Lopez and Rubin-Vega, especially the latter. A nice film, a sad little story and a chance to see Hoffman at work.
Jack Goes Boating opens today at the Plaza Frontenac
—Joe