Despite its grim backstory, Jack Frost focuses entirely on a father-and-son relationship and their complex, unspoken emotions. This lets the film explore themes of male emotion and grief, a brave step for any family fantasy movie set at Christmas.
Jack Frost (Michael Keaton) is a singer in a rock band that has never made it beyond successful local gigs in Colorado. But all that changes when an agent spots the band’s potential and invites them to a contract meeting on Christmas Eve.
Jack has spent years on the road chasing success, and his eleven-year-old son, Charlie (Joseph Cross), and his wife, Gabby (Kelly Preston), have often been sidelined as a result. When Jack breaks a promise to watch Charlie play in an ice hockey match, Charlie once again finds himself relegated to second place; therefore, Jack promises to take Charlie and Gabby to their cabin in the mountains for a Christmas together with no distractions, but his work gets in the way again with news of the potential contract signing. But as the band sets off, Jack changes his mind, opting to drive home through a snowstorm where he crashes his car and dies on a mountain road as Christmas Day comes into view.
A year later, Charlie, now twelve, is struggling to process his dad’s death, his emotions a mix of anger, pain, and love as he attempts to deal with last year’s tragic events. But a snowman Charlie built is about to come to life with the spirit of his father as Jack returns for one last magical Christmas with his son.
Despite its grim backstory, Jack Frost focuses entirely on a father-and-son relationship and their complex, unspoken emotions. This lets the film explore themes of male emotion and grief, a brave step for any family fantasy movie set at Christmas. The film’s ability to dovetail this message with action and humour that directly appeal to young boys is impressive; from snowball fights to jokes about male anatomy and snowboarding, it understands its young male audience from the outset. It may be dark and sometimes clumsy, but Jack Frost wears its heart on its sleeve as it explores grief, fatherhood and the importance of open communication.
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