Never Grow Up is Jackie Chan's second autobiography, following 1998's I Am Jackie Chan. It begins with the popular Chinese action film star receiving a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 2016 after starring in more than 200 films over five decades. From this vantage point, Chan and co-author Zhu Mo reflect on his life with a desire to offer more than just a collection of humorous anecdotes. With surprising honesty, Chan admits to marital infidelities (one resulting in a child) and his rocky relationship with his wife and son after decades spent putting his career ahead of them.
Although he was nicknamed "Cannonball" (he weighed 12 pounds at birth), Chan began his career in Chinese martial arts film less explosively. He made more than 30 films during his first eight years in the business. When he graduated to leading roles, the industry attempted to mold him into the "new Bruce Lee" with no success. When he convinced producers to add humor and frailties to his characters, he found a winning persona. "After fifteen years of hard training, I was an overnight success," he notes. While he was massively popular in Hong Kong, his first starring role for Hollywood (1980's The Big Brawl) was a flop. It would take 18 more years before he found success in the U.S., with Rush Hour.
Fans will enjoy the behind-the-scenes tales of making films and how Chan's outrageous stunt work escalated with each new movie. But Never Grow Up also reveals Chan's insecurities, infidelities and compulsions. Like Chan's best films, his memoir is engaging and entertaining. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant