Jack Frost Information

Jack Frost is a 1998 Christmas comedy drama film, starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston. Keaton stars as the title character, a man who dies in a car accident and comes back to life as a snowman. Three of Frank Zappa's four children--Dweezil Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, and Moon Unit Zappa--appear in the film. In the United States the film is rated PG by the MPAA.

The costume for Jack Frost's snowman form was created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Plot

Jack Frost (Michael Keaton) is the lead singer in a band simply titled "The Jack Frost Band", based in the fictional town of Medford, Colorado, who make their living performing blues covers and an assortment of their own songs in the hope of signing a record deal. He then returns to his son Charlie (Joseph Cross), who has just returned from an epic snowball fight against the bully Rory Buck (Taylor Handley). They spend some quality time by building a snowman in their front yard. Afterward, Jack tucks Charlie into bed and gives him his best harmonica, which Jack got the day Charlie was born. He then jokes with Charlie, telling him that it's magical, and he'll be able to hear the harmonica wherever he is. Jack promises his wife Gabby (Kelly Preston) that he will attend his son's hockey game. However, he misses the hockey's game in favor of recording the ironically named "Don't Lose Your Faith". Jack then promises to take his family on a Christmas trip to the mountains, but is called in on a gig that could either make or break his career. On his way to the gig, Jack realizes his mistake and borrows his best friend Mac's (Mark Addy) car to go home and be with his family. Unfortunately, a bad storm begins to block his view. Due to a faulty windshield wiper on Mac's car, Jack is unable to navigate through the storm, and as a result, he crashes his car, and is killed instantly (offscreen).

One year later, Charlie, depressed over his father's death, withdraws from all contact with his friends. One night, Charlie makes another snowman that bears as much of a resemblance to Jack as he can remember of him and plays Jack's harmonica just before going to sleep. This causes the snowman in the front yard to come to life with Jack's voice, memories and personality. Jack attempts to greet Charlie, but ends up terrifying him with his uncanny appearance. Jack walks into the night and contemplates his fate. The next morning, Charlie discovers Jack in his yard and attempts to run away from him. When Charlie winds up in the snowball battlefield, Jack pelts Rory Buck and the other children with snowballs and manages to grab Charlie. Jack escapes with Charlie on a sled whilst Rory and the enraged children pursue them. After losing Rory and the pursuers, Charlie realizes that the snowman is his father after Jack calls him 'Charlie boy' which his what his father used to call him and embraces him.

Jack befriends Charlie and teaches him the values that he never got to teach him when he was alive. After giving him some hockey lessons, Jack convinces Charlie to rejoin the hockey team instead of continuing to grieve over his death. Charlie goes on to become the best player on the team.

As winter approaches its end, Jack struggles to get to Charlie's hockey game. Afterwards, Charlie decides to take Jack to the mountains where it is colder. Charlie attempts to convince his mother to take Jack there, but has a difficult time doing so. Charlie then comes across Rory Buck who also insults the snowman by asking which is stupider. After Jack speaks in front of Rory by correcting his last sentence, Rory sympathizes with Charlie not having a father (he himself also lost his father, as mentioned earlier in the film) and helps him sneak Jack onto a truck en route to the mountains. Upon arrival in the mountains, Jack and Charlie arrive at the isolated cabin, that the family was going to stay at a year earlier before Jack's death, stands. Jack calls up Gabby, convinces her that he is Jack Frost and tells her to come to the cabin if she wishes to see Charlie again. Jack tells Charlie that he has to leave. When his wife arrives, the snowman shell dissipates, and Jack becomes an angel. After telling Charlie that even though Jack will be in the afterworld, he'll be with him wherever he is and wherever he goes and after saying farewell, Jack returns to the afterlife.

In the closing moments of the film showing later on that day, Charlie plays hockey with his friends (now joined by Rory who has finally stopped bullying Charlie and has become friends with him) while Gabby happily watches, and Mac (now Charlie's stepfather) plays music on the piano. The final street scene shows that all the front lawns have snowmen on them.

Cast

In credits order.

• Michael Keaton as Jack Frost, the vocalist and harmonica player of The Jack Frost Band who died in a car accident while trying to come home to spend Christmas with his family and is brought back to life in the body of the snowman in Charlie's front yard after Charlie used the magic harmonica.
  • Bruce Lanoil as Jack Frost's Snowman form (in-suit performer)
  • Denise Cheshire as Jack Frost's Snowman form (in-suit performer)
• Kelly Preston as Gabby Frost, Jack's wife
• Henry Rollins as Sid Gronic, ice hockey coach
• Mark Addy as Mac MacArthur, Jack's keyboard player and best friend. He is also Charlie's stepfather.
• Joseph Cross as Charlie Frost, Jack's son
• Mika Boorem as Natalie, Charlie's friend
• Andrew Lawrence as Tuck Gronic, Charlie's friend, Sid's son
• Eli Marienthal as Spencer, Charlie's friend
• Will Rothhaar as Dennis, Charlie's friend
• Taylor Handley as Rory Buck, a school bully who picks on Charlie but the two end up becoming friends.
• Ahmet Zappa as Snowplow Driver
• Paul F. Tompkins as Audience Member
• Dweezil Zappa as John Kaplan, music agent
• Jay Johnston as TV Weatherman
• Jeff Cesario as Radio Announcer
• Scott Kraft as Natalie's Dad
• Ajai Sanders as TV Interviewer
• John Ennis as Truck Driver
• Wayne Federman as Dave, policeman
• Pat Crawford Brown as Ice Hockey Scorekeeper
• Trevor Rabin as Trevor, The Jack Frost Band Lead Guitarist
• Lili Haydn as Lili, The Jack Frost Band Violinist
• Lou Molino III as Lou, The Jack Frost Band Drummer
• Moon Unit Zappa as School Teacher (uncredited)

Music

The film features 22 tracks:

• Frosty the Snowman - The Jack Frost Band
• Roll with the Changes - REO Speedwagon
• Merry Christmas Baby - Hanson
• Everytime We Say Goodbye - Cole Porter
• Rock and Roll (Part 2) - Gary Glitter
• Don't Lose Your Faith - The Jack Frost Band
• Can't Let Go - Lucinda Williams
• Leavin' Again - Steve Poltz
• Couldn't Stand the Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
• Free Ride - The Edgar Winter Group
• Hey Now Now - Swirl 360
• Final Fire - Hans Zimmer
• Jingle Bell Rock - Michael Sherwood
• Hot in the City - Billy Idol
• Gimme Some Lovin - Hanson
• Sleigh Ride - Spice Girls
• Slow Ride - Foghat
• Five Candles (You Were There) - Jars of Clay
• How - Lisa Loeb
• Father's Love - Bob Carlisle
• Good Lovin' - Hanson

Not all of these songs are available on the soundtrack CD however.

Featured on the CD release are:

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 20% based on 55 reviews.

Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, calling it, "the kind of movie that makes you want to take the temperature, if not feel for the pulse, of the filmmakers".

Box office

Produced on an $85 million budget, the film took $7 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross over $34.5 million in North America, becoming a box office flop.

Production

Both Joseph Cross and Mika Boorem starred together in the Touched by an Angel episode "Psalm 151." Plus, Cross and Michael Keaton appeared together in Desperate Measures, which was released the same year.