Jump Tomorrow

Well this film I think is more about sighing than laughing...

Saw the preview of this long ago, in a lifetime before kids, and back then thought that my wife and I would enjoy this film. Finally watched it recently and for me the film held up its part of the bargain.

I think some of the disappointment for this film is a bit heavy-handed for a very indie film from a first-time director. The film is somewhere between quaint and cute, and there is a time and place for that, no? The french version of Cupid was a bit trying on my nerves, but absolutely essential...and even he is given his epiphany, as are the male and female romantic interests, the initially wrongly-aimed arrows of love. They are both exotic on the outside, but all too familiar. It may be that the mute uncle says the most, but then less is often more.

Still, I think for many this film will have an appeal, as many people feel that they are on the wrong track of the wrong life at times. Having the male as the demure one also should have made this more appealing to my wife, but for some reason she did not get caught up in the film. I thought he was exceptionally well cast, and while he's probably nowhere near that awkward in real life, he certainly tapped into a neurosis as old as the Euphrates.

The Walter Mitty fantasies that George/Jorge uses for his form of losing himself worked less as comedy for me, but more as an underscoring of George's lack of ownership of his own life.

Many of the films loose ends were nicely tied together, and using Niagara Falls as the climactic setting, was a crucial cliché. Taking the plunge was well paralleled.

I see the next film from this director had him working with Dustin Hoffman, I'll check it out hopefully. But perhaps director/writer Joel Hopkins was not the indie wunderkind (or wunderBrit) I suspected. As mentioned in another review, he did license "Instant Karma" for a pivotal scene (and the words worked quite well I thought...).

Anyways that film looks like it touches on the despair and redemption of love too, so I'll try to entice my wife to watch that with me.

6.5/10 Thurston Hunger

A low-budget romantic comedy - one of many in recent years, unfortunately - with unfunniness in all of its inglorious drawn out entirety. Indie movies used to be - whether good or bad - fairly original and stayed away from some basic Hollywood cliché genres: such as the romantic comedy. With all those Grant/Bullock or Hanks/Ryan or Clooney/Pfeiffer sappy movies around, why would an "auteur", an "indie rebel", dirty his hands with that clap-trap? He would, and he will and he wants to because he is a BAD "auteur".

Written/directed by a certain Joel Hopkins, the movie is predictable and dull. The black guy and the attractive female cast are likable enough, but the movie treads very familiar territory. The guy who is supposed to be French (but has more of a Spanish accent, the twit) is supposed to provide most of the laughs but the script is crap and he has no talent. It's sort of like a Hal Hartley film, minus the good dialog and the originality.

Jump Tomorrow is one of those smart and funny films you just can't help but like. A first time effort from writer/director Joel Hopkins , Jump Tomorrow is a fresh breath of air and an absolute relief from the bevy of re-hashed romantic comedies which find their way into theaters. At the center of Jump Tomorrow is George (portrayed by first time star Tunde Adebimpe), a very serious, composed, and all too contained Nigerian. At times George reminds me of Woody Allen or M. Hulot as he awkwardly stumbles through his life on a journey to the inevitable. But it's the journey that has an impact on George and watching that change is both humorous and entertaining.

Joel Hopkins has a lot of the same qualities as director Wes Anderson (who directed the fantabulous Rushmore) - he has a sense of framing, music and pacing that is funny, but not at the expense of the characters. Over the course of the movie you really get to know and like these characters, feel for their struggle and can revel in their personal triumphs. It's rare that you get that from a Romantic Comedy, and for that I'd definitely recommend Jump Tomorrow. Think of it as the perfect 'indie' date movie!

This is what a genuine love story should be all about. I was amazed I had never heard of this film and how truly good it is. The writing, directing and acting are truly superb. All the characters are likable, except the obvious ones, and one seems to form a bond with them. Whether it be true friendship, love, emotions, feelings... well, this film has it all. There is great chemistry between Adebimpe and Verbeke. Girardot serves as a dysfunctional guardian angel to Adebimpe and as comic relief in scenes where there is supposed to be some tension. Although, this film is completely hilarious. Love may not be a science, but it is honestly such a complex subject to understand. Just go with the flow and watch this excellent film.

A few years before JUMP TOMORROW was filmed, the same leading man (Tunde Adebimpe) starred in a shorter version of this script entitled "Jorge". I have not seen the original film, so I cannot base my review on it but I was so taken by JUMP TOMORROW that I'm going to try to find a copy of this 30 minute short.

Adebimpe very ably plays a Nigerian-American (George) who is a very odd man, indeed and I loved his low-key performance. In many ways he's a total geek and it's nice to finally see a Black nerd in a film who is NOT "Steve Urkel"! During most of the film, George is very quiet and shy--part of which is due to his introverted personality and part is due to his lack of enthusiasm for a pending arranged marriage. This film is about his trek from home to Niagra Falls to be wed.

Along the way, he meets up with a very strange man (Gerard) who is suicidal and desperately in need of a friend. While George is in a hurry to get to his wedding, he is too decent a man to leave Gerard in his emotional condition. So, they travel together cross country to the wedding and they both become very unlikely friends.

There's MUCH more to this movie that this--including a tough to believe but nice romance that occurs between George and a new lady--again, someone who seems so unlike George in almost every way. While this aspect of the film is a tad predictable, the performances and dialog are so fresh and unusual that the film held my interest throughout. As a result, I strongly recommend you see this romantic-comedy if you are looking for something different from the usual Hollywood offerings.