May 17, 1997 -- "Jungle 2 Jungle" is Tim Allen's second film, after "The Santa Clause," and again Allen demonstrates his ease in front of the camera and his ability to deliver one-liners flawlessly.

Allen's great comic timing and his likeability help deliver the goods in this typical Disney family comedy. Allen plays Michael Cromwell, a workaholic stockbroker. Cromwell wants to marry airheaded model Charlotte (Lolita Davidovich), so he has to fly to South America to get a divorce from his first wife, Dr. Patricia Comwell (JoBeth Williams).

Upon arrival in the jungle, Cromwell finds out he has a 13-year-old son Mimi-Siku (Sam Huntington) he didn't know about and he winds up having to take the kid back to New York with him to get fire from the Statue of Liberty torch or something.

Along the way, wedding plans are disrupted, there are problems with a large spider named Myteka, and the Russian Mafia gets involved in coffee futures. Mostly, however, the story provides a background for Allen's one-liners and Mimi-Siku's Crockadile Dundee thing.

Martin Short is funny as Richard Kempster, Cromwell's nervous sidekick and David Ogden Stiers is funny as the menacing mob boss Alexei Jovanovic, Leelee Sobieski is effective as Mimi-Siku's girfriend, Karen Kempster and the wacky Valerie Mahaffey plays her mother, Jan Kempster.

It's a good cast. The movie uses the physical comedy talents of Short and Allen to good advantage. Few actors are able to do slapstick comedy well. This movie is basically an extended situation comedy, but it is welldone. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 1997 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.