Send this kangaroo back down under

Going into "Kangaroo Jack," I had to keep in mind that this is a movie for kids, so some leeway should be allowed, but there is a difference from a playfully simple movie like the "Mighty Ducks" and dumbed downed dribble. \nWhen hairstylists Charlie (Jerry O'Connell) and Louis (Anthony Anderson) accidentally lead the police to Charlie's mob-boss/stepfather's (Christopher Walken) warehouse of stolen merchandise, he sends them to deliver $50,000 to a man named Mr. Smith in Australia. While going to meet Mr. Smith, they hit a kangaroo with their car. The kangaroo looks like a man they call "Jackie Legs," hence the name "Kangaroo Jack." The kangaroolives and escapes wearing a jacket Louis put on him, which still holds money. Now Charlie and Louis must find the money before Mr. Smith finds them. Along the way they enlist the help of a Wildlife Center ranger (Estella Warren) and a myriad of Australian locals.\nThe commercials for "Kangaroo Jack" showcased a talking/rapping kangaroo, but this all takes place during Charlie's hallucination. While some jokes were slightly humorous and juvenile, most fell flat. The biggest laugh from the children in the audience was on poop and camel fart jokes, the rest at best earned a small chuckle. \nTypically movies about Australia portray it as a country full of tough, gun-toting, heavy-drinking people, but since this is a movie for kids, the movie plays down the seriousness of many situations, like when one local flies a plane a little time after having passed out drunk. Gaping holes in the plot exist that perhaps the producers (Jerry Bruckheimer among them) thought kids wouldn't recognize. For instance, after the money is failed to be delivered by noon in Australia, the Don's second in command leaves from New York and arrives the same day, highly unlikely. \nBesides Walken, the acting is stilted. Anderson is annoying and tends to overact while O'Connell and Warren's romantic dialogue comes across as forced. Where kids might find this entertaining, anyone over eight will find it not worth their time.