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he's going down a dark path. John looks to the children that there are real monsters out there, but he promises to play a better game with them. Later finding Jack playing his mother's lullaby on the piano while getting Dylan to say the lullaby's title, John tries to comfort his son when he breaks down crying. As John gives Jack and himself closure, the two embrace Dylan after he says the title of
Elizabeth's lullaby: "Jack the Bear." The next day, with their lives returning to normal, John watches his sons playing in the front yard.
319:. By the time John arrives home, Norman cuts the power as he sneaks into the house. Stirred awake by the outage, Jack is aware that someone intruded but accidentally knocks John out with a bat. Found by Norman, Jack runs upstairs and out the bathroom window to a branch of a nearby tree with Norman in pursuit as John regains consciousness. However, chased up to the higher point of the tree, Jack watches Norman losing his grip and falling into the backyard behind the Leary house where he is mauled to death by the neighbor's
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The next day, Jack is woken when Norman's golden retriever
Cheyenne dies on their front lawn from poisoning. John apologizes for his actions on television while giving his condolences despite Norman refusing to shake his hand. Backlash from John's previous actions on his show jeopardizes his job and
510:
awarded the film three out of four stars and said "some scenes in the movie are closely observed slices of real life". Critics agreed that the kidnapping plot concerning the sinister neighbor was unnecessary. Baumgarten noted that though the film is told from a child's perspective, "there's a deep
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One afternoon, the neighborhood children all appear and ask if John will play one of his monster games with them as usual. After his experiences with Norman, John tells the children he won't play the monster game anymore. When they ask him why, John sees Dexter smoking a cigarette while realizing
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Jack has a love affair with his classmate Karen Morris. Jack's friend and next-door neighbor, Dexter, comes from a broken home. Dexter resides with his grandparents; he begins suffering a downward spiral after his grandmother dies while becoming acquainted with Norman. On
Halloween, having given
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Jack calls the police as he and John are extremely worried until Dylan is found alive in a nearby forest a few days later and taken to the hospital. He has been traumatized by the ordeal of being left to die in the wilderness. The emotional trauma has rendered him mute.
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Three days later, bringing Dylan home with Norman not seen for days, John begins getting agitated to the point of taking out his frustration at the Strick home with a bat, terrorizing the
Stricks for their son's whereabouts before destroying Norman's beloved
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s
Marjorie Baumgarten writing, "The role of John Leary is a good one for DeVito, a character with many dimensions: bereaved spouse, good-time dad, local TV host of the nightly monster movie show, problem alcoholic."
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as a screenwriter. Principal photography began in April 1991. The film was initially slated for a
Christmas 1991 release date, but due to a need for reshoots involving
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endangers Jack's relationship with Karen. Taking out his anger on Dylan and leaving him with Dexter, Jack learns that his brother was kidnapped by Norman.
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One of the Learys' neighbors is a young man, Norman Strick, who walks with a cane due to a car accident as a teen. Norman is an anti-social
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by Dan McCall into a feature film since the late 1970s. The project was considered as a directing vehicle for Fonda's former husband
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that disrupts the smooth running of the household. Some parental duties fall to Jack, who takes Dylan to his first day of
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In 1989, it was reported that a new incarnation of the project was in development, with former CBS Theatrical Films hire
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attached to star. The film ended up ultimately not happening due to the collapse of CBS Theatrical Films in 1985.
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costume, Norman approaches John to ask for a donation for a racially prejudiced candidate. During an airing of
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brooding and uncertainty at the heart of this bear that's anything but kid stuff".
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Nominated – Best
Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor 10 or Younger:
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carries a 28% score with an average rating of 4.7/10. Audiences polled by
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host-commentator "Al Gory." Even though he is a loving parent, John has a
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Reviews of the film were mixed to negative. Out of 18 reviews on
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Nominated – Best
Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Actor:
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based on the novel of the same name by Dan McCall, and starring
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Won – Best
Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Actress:
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gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.
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Critics praised the acting, particularly DeVito's, with
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Jack Leary and his younger brother Dylan start over in
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1115:Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area
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1100:Films about dysfunctional families
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1105:Films based on American novels
713:Ebert, Roger (April 2, 1993).
294:Invasion of the Body Snatchers
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1135:Films about television people
415:Justin Mosley Spink as Dexter
244:after the death of his wife (
1150:1990s English-language films
1145:1993 directorial debut films
1095:Films scored by James Horner
1120:Films shot in San Francisco
1080:American comedy-drama films
863:Searching for Bobby Fischer
740:"15th Youth in Film Awards"
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898:The Falcon and the Snowman
855:Films written and directed
137:Lucky Dog Productions Inc.
538:Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
350:Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
234:Robert J. Steinmiller Jr.
33:Theatrical release poster
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930:Clear and Present Danger
521:1994 Young Artist Awards
1065:1993 comedy-drama films
161:April 2, 1993
1085:20th Century Fox films
994:Exodus: Gods and Kings
593:"Jack the Bear (1993)"
515:Awards and nominations
242:San Francisco Bay Area
744:YoungArtistAwards.org
459:as a co-producer and
1155:1990s American films
1140:Films about brothers
687:The Austin Chronicle
499:The Austin Chronicle
426:CBS Theatrical Films
938:Mission: Impossible
410:Christopher Lawford
392:Julia Louis-Dreyfus
326:Abbott and Costello
258:Oakland, California
222:Marshall Herskovitz
216:is a 1993 American
43:Marshall Herskovitz
879:All the King's Men
388:as Elizabeth Leary
374:Carl Gabriel Yorke
321:Doberman Pinschers
135:American Filmworks
1110:Films set in 1972
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970:American Gangster
954:Gangs of New York
530:Reese Witherspoon
442:Lawrence D. Cohen
440:with a script by
406:as Mrs. Festinger
398:Reese Witherspoon
386:Andrea Marcovicci
246:Andrea Marcovicci
220:film directed by
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270:drinking problem
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111:Steven Rosenblum
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66:by Dan McCall
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49:Screenplay by
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1040:(unproduced)
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465:Danny DeVito
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218:comedy-drama
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177:Running time
154:Release date
121:James Horner
88:Danny DeVito
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724:January 10,
693:January 10,
655:CinemaScore
546:Miko Hughes
508:Roger Ebert
491:CinemaScore
438:Roger Vadim
368:Art LaFleur
362:Gary Sinise
356:Miko Hughes
262:horror film
238:Miko Hughes
101:Fred Murphy
71:Produced by
39:Directed by
1060:1993 films
1054:Categories
906:Awakenings
754:January 7,
660:August 24,
635:August 24,
553:References
430:Jane Fonda
421:Production
202:Box office
181:99 minutes
165:1993-04-02
128:Production
978:Moneyball
477:Reception
457:Ron Yerxa
287:Dexter a
274:preschool
130:companies
107:Edited by
946:Hannibal
790:AllMovie
281:neo-Nazi
194:Language
117:Music by
81:Starring
59:Based on
448:, with
197:English
186:Country
163: (
1037:Cortes
1032:(2024)
1029:Ripley
1024:(2016)
1005:(2019)
997:(2014)
989:(2011)
981:(2011)
973:(2007)
965:(2005)
957:(2002)
949:(2001)
941:(1996)
933:(1994)
925:(1993)
917:(1993)
909:(1990)
901:(1985)
882:(2006)
874:(1998)
866:(1993)
651:"Home"
311:T-Bird
503:'
470:Hoffa
779:IMDb
756:2024
726:2024
695:2023
662:2023
637:2023
606:2023
428:and
337:Cast
289:Nazi
252:Plot
236:and
810:at
799:at
788:at
777:at
598:AFI
570:at
248:).
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
