Jungle 2 Jungle (1997)

Michael Cromwell (Tim Allen) is successful in the world of New York commodities trading. He plans to marry high fashion high maintenance girlfriend Charlotte (Lolita Davidovich) but first, he must get a divorce from his estranged wife Patricia (JoBeth Williams). Patricia is presently living with natives in the jungle and she shocks him by revealing that they had a son in 13-year-old Mimi-Siku (Sam Huntington). He reluctantly allows Mimi-Siku to go back to NY with him. It's a tough transition especially with the boy's pet spider. The kid falls for Michael's high strung co-worker Richard Kempster (Martin Short)'s daughter (Leelee Sobieski).I like nobody and they are all annoying to some degree. The worst is Short but his wackiness is not unexpected. By himself, he could be written off as a bad sidekick. The problem is that Michael is unlikeable and sadly the kid is not much better. While the dad's idiocy fits the premise, it's the boy who is the most disappointing. He should be a likeable fish out of water character. He could have a nice puppy love romance with Karen as she teaches him the ways of the city and he teaches her the nobility of jungle living. Instead, he's more of a brat especially with his pet spider and he does it all with that goofy smile. I don't like the coffee trade subplot. I don't know anything about the French original but it sounds even worst. This is misguided at its core.

As someone who has never enjoyed a Tim Allen movie, I was not thrilled when my young son said he wanted to watch this. But as a doting Dad I duly obliged.Plot In A Paragraph: A New York broker (Tim Allen) goes to find his wife with whom he has long since separated to ask for a divorce so he can remarry. His treck takes him to the Amazon where she revealed she was pregnant when they separated, and he now has a son. Chaos ensues when father and son try and bond back in New York.My thoughts while watching this were.....WOW Tim Allen is annoying. WOW Tim Allen REALLY over acts. WOW how the hell did this guy carve out an acting career?? WOW what the hell happened to Martin Shorts career that he is doing this?? WOW Martin Short has a really bad dye job. My word those are some bad effects.HEY there is a young Leelee Sobieski!! We don't see enough of JoBeth Williams on screen!! So in summary while it's interesting to see a young Leelee Sobieski, (having probably her first on screen kiss) and she was a talented stand out then. And it's always nice to see JoBeth Williams this really is one to miss, unless you are a fan of any of the stars.

I sincerely apologize to all you who liked the film.Jungle 2 Jungle brings badness to new heights. It is cringe inducing at all times. We continued watching it simply because we could not comprehend how anything could be so bad. Like a train wreck, we watched in horror unable to look away. Was it better back in the 90s? I sure hope so.The saddest part is that I like all those actors normally but that did not help. How this did not get a nod at the razzies I'll never know.We cannot in good conscience recommend this movie. It could cause a loss of respect for Tim Allen and Martin Short.

This movie is solid fun. It's typical Tim Allen, which means that if you like him you should enjoy the movie. He employs lots of quick wit, sarcasm, and slapstick self-deprivation. The son does a mostly believable job with the typical fish out of water story. He climbs out on the ledge of a Manhattan skyscraper and also climbs to the top of the statue of liberty to see the "fire up the sky's butt". The supporting cast puts in workman quality acting as well. The real mom (JoBeth Williams) is believable as a post 60's Peace Corp leftover and villain played by David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H) is terrific as a scary and quirky Russian mafia boss. It is a down the middle Disney pre-teen movie and fun.