Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Best / Worst of the Decade
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
49
2012
41
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
84
Avatar![]()
69
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
53
Blind Side
53
Book of Eli, The
55
Christmas Carol, A
57
Daybreakers
43
Dear John
27
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
55
Edge of Darkness
45
Extraordinary Measures
83
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
42
From Paris with Love
65
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The
74
Invictus
57
It's Complicated
34
Law Abiding Citizen
33
Leap Year
33
Legion
42
Lovely Bones, The
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
34
Ninja Assassin
19
Old Dogs
xx
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
39
Planet 51
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Princess & the Frog, The
64
Road, The
57
Sherlock Holmes
27
Spy Next Door, The
36
Tooth Fairy
44
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
83
Up in the Air![]()
43
Valentine's Day
25
When in Rome
71
Where the Wild Things Are
xx
WolfMan, The
63
Youth in Revolt
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
46
44 Inch Chest
83
Ajami![]()
73
Amreeka
xx
Barefoot to Timbuktu
19
Bitch Slap
24
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
76
Broken Embraces
64
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
84
Cove, The![]()
84
Crazy Heart![]()
21
Crazy on the Outside
48
Creation
xx
Daddy Long Legs
81
Damned United, The![]()
68
Departures
62
District 13: Ultimatum
85
Education, An![]()
71
Eyes Wide Open
24
Falling Awake
81
Fish Tank![]()
56
For My Father
xx
From Mexico with Love
43
Frozen
68
Girl on the Train, The
52
Killing Kasztner
74
Last Station, The
43
Little Traitor, The
51
Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, The
73
Me and Orson Welles
76
Messenger, The
57
Missing Person, The
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
xx
My Name is Khan
49
Nine
63
North Face
59
October Country
67
Off and Running
52
Paranoids, The
49
Pop Star on Ice
49
Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The
xx
Promised Lands (Re-release)
69
Red Riding Trilogy, The
29
Saint John of Las Vegas
69
September Issue, The
36
Serious Moonlight
63
Shinjuku Incident, The
77
Single Man, A
xx
Still Bill
76
Terribly Happy
74
That Evening Sun
19
To Save a Life
68
Town Called Panic, A
59
Until the Light Takes Us
57
Videocracy
65
Waiting for Armageddon
82
White Ribbon![]()
43
Women in Trouble
xx
Word is Out
64
Young Victoria, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 14 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Action | Comedy | Mystery | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Jack Bernstein (also story)
Tom Shadyac
Jim Carrey
Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 4, 1994
DVD: August 26, 1997
Running Time: 86 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for off-color humor and some nudity
Starring Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc, Dan Marino, Noble Willingham, Troy Evans, and Raynor Scheine
He's the best there is, in fact, he's the only one there is! He's Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Jim Carrey is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man -- or beast. (Warner Bros.)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Bruce Almighty Dragonfly Liar Liar Patch Adams The Nutty Professor
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Washington Post Rita Kempley
A riot from start to finish, Carrey's first feature comedy is as cheerfully bawdy as it is idiotically inventive.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Treat this project as you would a safari: It has its slow parts but the wildlife makes it worthwhile.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Chris Willman
He's so over-energized from the start you keep thinking he'll wear out his welcome pronto; an hour and a half later, his lunacy is still hard to take your eyes off. [04Feb1994 Pg. F6]
TV Guide Staff(not credited)
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective marks the ascendance of a new star in film farce, as Jim Carrey elevates this stupid, suprisingly shoddy picture into the comedy stratosphere, mainly thanks to his Gumby-like ability to contort his face and body in the most amazing ways.
Read Full Review >USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
While the rubber-limbed Carrey may not yet be in the hyper-manic league of Jerry Lewis or Robin Williams, his psychotic energy goes a long way to make this plot-anemic comedy palatable. [04Feb1994 Pg. 07.D]
The New York Times Stephen Holden
The movie has the metabolism, logic and attention span of a peevish 6-year-old.
Read Full Review >Empire Julian Ketchum
Neither terrible, boring nor soporific, just not very funny.
Read Full Review >Variety Steven Gaydos
Seemingly clueless as to how best to utilize Carrey, or make humorous hay out of its pet-loving shamus' central character, Ventura fails to place either Carrey or Ace in the winner's circle of memorable screen crazies.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
From the start, it's obvious that this is a vehicle for his comedy, and it mostly works -- for about ten to fifteen minutes. After that, Carrey's act gradually grows less humorous and more tiresome, and the laughter in the audience seems forced.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Manic energy is the term that comes most readily to mind when describing Ace Ventura.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I found the movie a long, unfunny slog through an impenetrable plot. Kids might like it.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The most obnoxious case of masculine swagger since Andrew Dice Clay, with just a tad of Paul Lynde thrown in for spice, Jim Carrey defies you not to bolt for the exit while playing the title hero in this 1994 comic mystery.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Michael Sragow
In this smutty kiddie farce he's a clownish action toy, and he grows wearying, fast.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Carrey suggests an escaped mental patient impersonating a game-show host-and, what's worse, his hyperbolically obnoxious shtick is the whole damned show.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
R D. gave it an8:
Very funny movie. Carrey gives a great performance.
Pat C. gave it a3:
Jim Carrey establishes himself as the go-to guy when just a little over the top simply won't do.
Jamie B. gave it a9:
Surprisingly enjoyable, either in spite of or because of it's goofiness. Jim Carrey never showed less effort in a performance. If you think that's a good thing, then you might like this movie.
