The Real Reason Al Pacino Agreed To His Jack And Jill Cameo

Movies Comedy Movies

In Dennis Dugan's widely maligned 2011 comedy film "Jack and Jill," Adam Sandler played Jack, an advertising executive who was desperate to close a valuable account with Dunkin' Donuts. Jack million-dollar idea for the campaign is to secure the services of Al Pacino, as his name sorta-rhymes with the bakery's new coffee product, the Dunkaccino. Pacino plays himself in "Jack and Jill," and Jack repeatedly tries to get the actor's attention in public, as to make an impromptu ad pitch. Jack only becomes successful after Pacino expresses romantic interest in his twin sister Jill (also Sandler). 

Audiences are then "treated" to the complete version of Jack's Dunkin' Donuts commercial, and it has become the stuff of cinematic infamy. Pacino raps awkwardly about the Dunkaccino, making references to his own filmography. Sample lyrics: "Attica, hoohah, latte lite/This whole trial is out of sight/They pulled me back in with hazelnut, too/Caramel swirl, I know it was you." 

"Jack and Jill" received horrendous notices, having a mere 3% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 116 reviews. Most critics gave it a one-star rating, a D-minus, or lower, and it is often considered one of the worst films in Adam Sandler's canon ... which is saying something. Many likely wondered what the heck a legendary actor like Pacino was doing in a low-rent Adam Sandler comedy like this. Was he so desperate for cash that he agreed to rap about Dunkin' Donuts? 

As it so happens, yes. In his new memoir "Sonny Boy," Pacino admitted that he, in 2011, had lost sight of his personal finances, and fallen into bad habits with overspending. Then his personal accountant got him unwittingly involved in a Ponzi scheme. Pacino, 70 at the time, needed money fast. Sandler gave him a call about "Jack and Jill" and ... sorry to do this, but ... made him an offer he couldn't refuse. 

Al Pacino needed the money

Pacino wrote in his memoir that his personal accountant was a shady figure. Others warned the actor that this particular accountant, Kenneth I. Starr, was "not to be trusted." Pacino learned the hard way that, yes, Starr had a habit of embezzling funds. "I had $50 million," Pacino wrote, "and then I had nothing." Back in 2010, Starr was convicted on 23 counted of fraud and money laundering, taking money from a raft of wealthy clients and using it in a $35 million Ponzi scheme. Starr defrauded Pacino, but also Uma Thurman, Neil Simon, and Lauren Bacall. He eventually served seven-and-a-half-years in prison.

Pacino admitted that he was duped, but also that he had become accustomed to lavish spending. When one becomes wealthy, he says, one keeps less of an eye on their bottom line. He owned a lot of property, but didn't have any cash. Pacino wrote: 

"In this business, when you make $10 million dollars for a film, it's not $10 million. Because after the lawyers, and the agents, and the publicist, and the government, it's not $10 million, it's $4.5 million in your pocket. But you're living above that because you're high on the hog. And that's how you lose it. It's very strange, the way it happens. The more money you make, the less you have. [...] The kind of money I was spending and where it was going was just a crazy montage of loss. [...] And I thought, It's simple. It's clear. I just know this. Time stopped. I am f***ed."

Pacino, having lost so much of his wealth, suddenly didn't have the luxury of waiting for the acting jobs he was interested in. He had to take whatever was offered him. It was at this point that Adam Sandler approached him about "Jack and Jill." 

Adam Sandler approach Al Pacino about Jack and Jill at just the right time

In "Sonny Boy," Pacino admitted that he only agreed to appear in "Jack and Jill" because it was the only job that drifted his way at the time. The script (by Sandler and Steve Koren) may not have been the best thing Pacino might have ever read, but the money was right, and the timing was perfect. Pacino wrote: 

"'Jack and Jill' was the first film I made after I lost my money. To be honest, I did it because I didn't have anything else. Adam Sandler wanted me, and they paid me a lot for it. So I went out and did it, and it helped. I love Adam, he was wonderful to work with and has become a dear friend. He also just happens to be a great actor and a hell of a guy."

One might hear many, many similar stories about Sandler out of Hollywood. There seems to be a general consensus that Sandler is an aggressively decent and generous man who is always a pleasure to work with. His movies largely stink and often get panned by critics, but they are just as often successful crowd-pleasers. Sandler also manages to secure the same large groups of very talented actors for his dumbass comedies time and time again, proving that people love working with him. 

Pacino was not immune to Sandler's charms, nor of the paycheck Sandler offered him. "Jack and Jill" must have provided Pacino with the windfall he needed, as he was shortly thereafter able to appear in smaller soulful indies like David Gordon Green's "Manglehorn" and Barry Levinson's "The Humbling." He also worked with Quentin Tarantino in "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," with Martin Scorsese in "The Irishman," and with Ridley Scott on "House of Gucci." He has, one might feel, regained his prestige.