With a career that has lasted over 50 years, it’s expected that Al Pacino would have some stinkers. But nothing is worse on the resume of Pacino than 2011’s Jack and Jill – hey, at least Gigli streamed on the Criterion Channel. For his performance as himself, he earned the Worst Supporting Actor Razzie…but also gave us one of the best ads in history.
In Jack and Jill, Al Pacino is recruited by Adam Sandler’s Jack to do a commercial for the Dunkaccino, a coffee/hot chocolate blend that Dunkin’ Donuts actually discontinued last year. Although he doesn’t have a credit, much of that scene came about because of Robert Smigel, who came onboard before Pacino was even cast. As he remembered, “The Dunkaccino thing was just something I thought of while I was doing the rewrite. The whole premise was already there — that Adam worked at an ad agency and needed a famous actor for a corny product tie-in and the only way he’s able to get the guy is that he’s smitten by his twin sister. Dunkin’ Donuts wasn’t originally in the script though. The original idea was Starbucks, and the drink was Frappuccino…At the end of the day, it’s funnier that Al Pacino did a commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts. That way there’s no pretense that he ever thought this was a classy gig.”
Banking on the over-the-top, Scent of a Woman-type Pacino, the Jack and Jill team found that the Oscar winner (for, ironically enough, that 1992 film) was more than willing to give it his all, even acknowledging how damaging it might be for his career, just like the Pacino in the movie. As one extra remembered, “During one of the takes, Pacino flubbed a line or a dance move, and he jokingly said, ‘This is going to ruin me. I can’t believe you got me to do this.’” Even still, he was in on the joke of it all, requesting more takes and having fun on the set, in turn making sure the extras were game. As Smigel put it, “All the extras knew how to deliver the lines in a super-corny, whitebread kind of way, and Al just sunk his teeth into it. I didn’t know he was that good a dancer! Working with him every day was a joy, but that day in particular was heaven. Writing that song and seeing him do it was one of my favorite moments in show business.”
It was such a successful spoof that some people actually thought Al Pacino starred in a Dunkin’ commercial. But that was only the Pacino of Jack and Jill; the real Pacino has only ever endorsed Vittoria Coffee, which is considerably classier…
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