"Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a very funny comedy-thriller starring comedienne and current "Hollywood Squares" star Whoopi Goldberg in the movie she made after her outstanding performance in "The Color Purple". This was her first big comedy and she's terrific in it. Goldberg stars as Terry Doolittle, a computer operator at a New York bank. At the end of a long day of work, she gets an awkward message from a British spy who's in trouble. As a result she gets plunged into a world of international intrigue and danger. Sure the premise of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is silly. But it's an entertaining movie, thanks to Goldberg's performance. She's the whole show here. One of the best moments in the film is the one when the spy asks her to "sing with me and find the key", and she listens to the lyrics of the Mick Jagger song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" so she can find the word or words to crack the spy's code. This scene is a classic. Just get a load of the way Goldberg acts in this scene. It's hilarious. This scene proves that Goldberg is a great comic actress. There's also the scene where, after almost getting killed, Goldberg confronts a police detective played by "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride" director Garry Marshall (who oddly enough is the brother of the director of this film, former "Laverne & Shirley" star Penny Marshall making her directorial debut here). Get a load of the foul language displayed by Goldberg in this scene. I was laughing hysterically out loud. There are also action scenes that really aren't necessary, but they're exciting and thrilling. And there are good supporting performances by Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, John Wood, Annie Potts, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jim Belushi, Jon Lovitz, and the late Phil Hartman. But the real star here is Whoopi. She alone makes "Jumpin' Jack Flash" worth seeing. And it's far better that Whoopi's next two movies after this: "Burglar" and "Fatal Beauty".
*** (out of four)
