That has always been Jim’s reputation - going back to his early standup days, through his years on Fox’s “In Living Color,” and into his run as one of modern cinema’s biggest stars, he’s never been one for subtlety. Even in his critically acclaimed performances of recent years (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Truman Show,” “Man on the Moon,” “The Majestic”) his spark of manic energy has been there, waiting to burst forth. Granted, his new film “Fun with Dick and Jane” isn’t going to snag any Oscar nods, but it is vintage Carrey: big laughs, and a lot of fun.
If anything, this is a return to Carrey’s “Liar, Liar”/”Bruce Almighty” form, in which he plays a regular guy trying to be good, but has to contend with baser societal and psychological impulses. In “Dick and Jane,” Carrey is Dick Harper, a rising star in the Globodyne (Globotech meets Cyberdyne?) Corporation. At first we see him giving building tours, but he is soon promoted all the way up to Vice President of Communications. Unfortunately for Dick, the move is basically a set-up, a way to make him the fall guy when Globodyne flat lines that very week.
That is when things start to go awry for Dick, Jane (Téa Leoni), and family. All their savings are tied up in Globodyne stock, which is now worthless. They are deeply in debt, thanks to the mortgage on their new house, and Jane quit her job when Dick was promoted. Eventually, these financial crises take their toll on their family; each new attempt to find work is met with soul-crushing defeat, they end up selling half their possessions while the other half get repossessed… Things are looking grim for the Harpers, when finally they find work that will pay the bills: they become robbers.
At first they are content with little crimes like convenience store stick-ups, but eventually they move on to bigger targets. They start robbing bigger stores, restaurants, and even banks. They seem particularly interested in taking back from the institutions of wealth that they once used for survival: coffee shops, sushi bars, former colleagues, and eventually Dick’s former Globodyne CEO, Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin).
Most of “Dick and Jane” is, well, fun. If you’ve seen the trailer, you already know about most of the best bits (the coffee shop/sushi bar scenes, Dick with his dog’s shock collar, the lawn repossession, and so on). However there are plenty of funny moments left in the film. I won’t go into too much detail, but I was particularly impressed with Téa Leoni’s performance from Dick and Jane’s initial crime spree. And Jim Carrey does his usual blend of goofy slapstick and manic timing as well here as in any of his similar roles.
Of course there are some bits that don’t quite work (at least for my idea of comedy). For instance, it’s just not believable that Dick would get deported to Mexico while working with a group of illegal immigrants. The circumstances surrounding the scene are contrived, and (more importantly) no actor this side of Charlton Heston is less likely to be confused with a Mexican than Jim Carrey.
Additionally, screenwriters Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller have apparently the same sense of humor as the producers of “Hitch,” since both films seem to think that allergic reactions and facial swelling are funny. They are not. Performance-wise, the only real letdown in the cast is Alec Baldwin, who is using an unconvincing southern accent in the film. He’s probably attempting to invoke Ken Lay of Enron (in a clever touch he, along with nearly every crooked executive of this millennium thus far, are given special thanks in the end credits), however the accent just doesn’t suit Baldwin as an actor.
In general though, “Dick and Jane” is an entertaining way to spend a few hours- if you like that classic Jim Carrey style you won’t be disappointed. For my part though, I hope he still keeps seeking out those interesting roles too. Run, Jim, run!
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