(Review originally written at 21 May 2008)
This is one crazy comedy that is totally being carried by Jim Carrey's performance.
Sort of the problem with comedies though is its simple written story. It's as if the best writers don't want to touch the comedy genre with an 10-feet pole and they are above the genre, which is sort of understandable since comedies simply never have been amongst the most appreciated or high class movies. But than again on the other hand comedies also shouldn't ever be too complicated, or else they wouldn't be really comedies. But at least you should always trow in some originality. Basically the only thing that makes this movie truly original is Jim Carrey.
You can say that this is really the movie that launched Carrey's comedy career. Shortly after this he got parts in movies such as "Dumb & Dumber", "The Mask" and "The Truman Show". It's as if director these days keep him more on a short leach but in this early movie from him there is no holding back and he goes totally over-the-top with his Ace Ventura character. This is perhaps also the very same reason why Ace Ventura has grown out into a well known comical character. It's really Carrey that makes this movie and its humor work out so well, since lets face it; the movie its script really doesn't provide the movie with that much comical material to work with. I really can't imaging how this movie would had been without Jim Carrey in it.
The movie further more also has a good supporting cast with fine actors such as Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Udo Kier, Troy Evans, John Capodice and more.
No it's not its directing or overall style that makes this really a special comedy to watch. It has a very typical style in directing, character treatment, it's music and other little things such as this. The '90's just wasn't the best decade for movies in terms of style and its way of film-making. You didn't really realized it at the time but looking back at it now, the '90's is perhaps the decade of movies with the least distinctive- and stylish style.
Luckily Jim Carrey's presence compensates for basically everything. He makes the movie a real worthwhile one, although the eventual movie still is just not as classic as its main character is.
7/10
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