Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001)

I see that somehow it happens close to Easter to sync with a movie that has golden eggs = another adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk". Well, at least last year it was the same .. I don't know how many other versions are left there, but now we're talking about ... "The Real Story", so maybe I can stop after this one. Anyway, if the last entries were written in a rush because I didn't have time, now I'm somewhere between headaches & stomach pains, so I'll try to cut it short again ...

What I've just watched is a pretty old mini-series, made for TV. And that's visible in the budget, effects and production design overall = don't expect much. Probably also to the budget relates the acting level too = there are enough scenes that seem done with a single take, like it wasn't time for more than that. Still Mia Sara was charming, as usual, so .. let's get over this, although ... We're getting to the script which is also a mess: stupid lines, plot holes and lots of cheesy stuff. If I should pick now a movie for which I have to make a certain bet that who sees it cannot hold from eye-rolling, "Jack and the Beanstalk" is the winner. And still ...

And still we have something that I've left for the end this time, just to wrap it up on the plus side: the story. Yup ... the story starts with Jack, who's not as expected the poor countryside kid who made a bad bargain in selling a cow for some beans (well .. we have that too, but a bit further). Jack is the chairman of a gigantic enterprise running business that spans from ecologic agriculture to gambling. The problem is that Jack gets close to 40, age at which all the male genealogical tree side moved the domicile two-feet-under. But our guy is less concerned about the "curse" and more of a problem that appears somewhere on British territory, at the family's castle that should be transformed in a casino. The excavation work get stuck into a gigantic skeleton ... take a wild guess who was buried there ;) Well, further we get somehow to "the classic story", and quickly after we learn "the real story" version of it, about which I'm not gonna say anything. Except that it mixes somehow drama, romance, comedy, very dark secrets, (sort of) time travel, and others. A very surprising melange I would say, and one I can truly appreciate for the originality of the ideas. However, the authors probably got bored when it came to the part where the story has to be translated into an actual screenplay. But if you like fairytales ;) and especially re-told in a different manner ... this one deserves a try.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (at the bottom limit)


Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001) by m0vietrailerpark