SummaryA state trooper (Carrey) has a split-personality, one of which is mild-mannered and one violently aggressive. Comedy ensues when both personalities fall in love with the same woman (Zellwegger).
SummaryA state trooper (Carrey) has a split-personality, one of which is mild-mannered and one violently aggressive. Comedy ensues when both personalities fall in love with the same woman (Zellwegger).
For all their foul jokes and embarrassments, the brothers have a talent for creating characters whose goodness, and lack of ironic self-consciousness, shield them against life's insults.
Jim Carrey always set the bar when it came to witty and all out ridiculous humour, but I'm just not sure just how much I enjoyed this film, it certainly wasn't a great film, but there where hilarious moments that may just save it.
Carrey plays Charlie, a Rhode Island state trooper who bottles up all his troubles to the point of never facing any of his withstanding problems and issues that he has watched pass by. He does lead a simple and almost care-free life until he is drove to breaking point, and out comes his quite crude but equally hilarious alter-ego, Hank.
He is then tasked with taking a suspected criminal across the country, only because his commanding officer (Robert Forster) believes he needs a holiday after his breakdown.
The suspected criminal, however, is in the form of the delightful Renée Zellweger, who is the bubbly and often air headed damsel, who now has to deal with Charlie and his alter-ego Hank, because at this point the film does take a turn for the worse. It almost turns to a dumbed down and ridiculous conspiracy theory that just seems unnecessary, the plot had little promise to be riveting and enjoyable, the most enjoyable parts of the film consisted of Carrey and Zellweger NOT participating in the on going story, their strange encounters and dealings with Hank, with some hysteric moments,(Whitey the Albino, the introduction of Hank and some just too far, (the events after the vending machine scene just weren't funny, they were cringeworthy), but the movie does trot along at an OK pace due to the chemistry between Carrey and Zellweger, the former doing an excellent job of being the life and soul of the comedy in the film, apart from the odd shining moment from his three larger than life sons.
For me, the Farrelly brothers just don't seem happy with maintaining their jokes to one film, there are several quips and puns in this that we have already seen before, and perhaps they still work, but they do push too far in trying to get the joke across, there is no subtlety involved in the writing of most of the jokes, and the true heart of the film gets lost in stupid nose noises and an ever expanding sub-plot.
For what its worth, this is an enjoyable film, but not for re-watch value, and certainly not for a straight-up comedy.
A decent attempt from the Farrelly's, but could have been much better.
Seldom any laughs, even from Jim Carrey, who can only make a formulaic approach in all his physical comedy roles from 'Ace Ventura'. The acting is atrocious, as is the dialogue, and the story is just plainly not funny, How is this supposed to be funny, to laugh at a guy whose life is that petty and depressing and cruel is going beyond comedy and into insolence.