Word: jakes
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Thomas (aka J.T.T.), better known as Randy on the hit sitcom "Home Improvement," plays Jake Wilkinson, a collegiate Scrooge who divides his time between wooing his girlfriend Allie (Jessica Biel) and running a fake ID service. Because he would rather stay in California than go home to New York for the holidays, our hero's father (Gary Cole) promises him a Porsche (!) if he makes it home by 6 p.m. on Christmas Day. This is a prospect Jake finds too tempting to pass up. Jake's business, however, botches one too many assignments, and some unhappy customers toss him into...
Director Arlene Sanford has attempted to beef up the plot with a bunch of tried-and-true signs of a broken family--tension between Jake and his stepmother, heated sibling rivalry between Jake and his kid sister, etc., etc. No prizes for guessing if he makes peace with his family, patches things up with his girlfriend, or makes it home for Christmas. No surprise, the story line is absolutely predictable: When Jake enters a Santa race for a $1,000 prize in one town, the big question is not if he'll win, but how long it'll take...
...Part of the problem is that he's a teen trying to act 21-he simply looks too young to be playing a college student. This stretches the believability of the story from the beginning, when the caption "Palisades College" flashes onto the screen as we see Jake and his freshfaced sidekick, Ian, walking past a row of lockers...
...that matter, neither does the rest of the cast, although it can't be said that they have lines that lend themselves to interpretation. At one point, Allie tries desperately to convince Eddie that Jake is a "sensitive" guy--she remembers the time he tried to cheer her up by complimenting her hands (a line ripped off from e.e. cummings, no less.) The one character in the entire movie who can be called really humorous is the illegal electronics peddler who accidentally hits Jake with his van (sadly, the movie doesn't end) and remorsefully offers to drive...
...Walland, who went 14-of-26 for 206 yards and two scores, the Bulldogs immediately retaliated with a 76-yard scoring play to junior Jake Fuller...