This film is like a three-hour ad for Mel Gibson. It's pretty good on the technical front: the battles are great, the costumes are neat, and the pictures are stunning (or at least interesting.) But the script is so thoughtless, so blatantly Hollywood-ized, that it's impossible to take any of it seriously. Unfortunately, the actors play it like friggin' Shakespeare. The script is transparent as it divides characters into heroes and villains, then divides them again into superheroes and supervillains. And the "dramatic" moments (such as "They'll never take...our FREEDOM!" or "Every man dies, not every man truly lives") feel phony and jingoistic. Mel Gibson isn't made to play superheroes. His persona is a balance between heroic bravado and self-deprecating charm. In a movie this melodramatic, he feels totally false and out of place.
Reviews
4 Reviews
It's Just Plain Funny
22 August 2001
Warning: Spoilers
Is it dumb? Well, it's definitely low-brow, but it also has some gags that are undeniably clever. Is it racist? Yeah, a little, but it's also satirizing old stereotypes about "Dark Africa." Is it immature and and gross and sophomoric and over-the-top? Yes. Yes, it is.
But someone (well, me) once said the only thing comedies have to be is funny. And this movie is dang funny. Need I remind anybody of the scene where Ace insists on dropping a slinky down the hundreds of steps leading up to a Buddhist temple? ("It was RIGHT there!") Or the slideshow in which Ace's hand appears to greedily devour a poacher's crotch? That's just hilarious!
The great thing about this movie is that it doesn't settle for outlandish set-ups that only seem to be jokes. This movie gets full bang for its comedic buck. Do we have a fight with a crocodile presented in-and-of-itself as humor? No! In a lesser film, perhaps. But Ace Ventura goes the extra mile, bringing us childish schoolyard taunts ("Stop hittin' yourself! Stop hittin yourself!") And is it enough to have Ace chasing the villain through the jungle in a monster truck? No - he actually pulls up next to him and utters a bon mot worthy of Groucho. Also, where did that monster truck come
from?! The sheer resolve not to explain the truck's presence is a sublimely satirical dig at movies that might place monster trucks in the jungle just for cheap, lazy wackiness.
This movie is anything but lazy. Jim Carrey, like no actor before him, pulls out all the stops as Ace Ventura. Is he milking things? Oh sure. He's milking things like Paganini milked the violin, or like Michelangelo milked the Sistine Chapel. He's inventing a manic persona so complete and fully realized, that it transcends standard comedy and achieves something mystical and poetic and truthful. And that's how it keeps from being annoying.
This film is too casually dismissed because it looks like a terrible movie. I was hesitant to watch it. But maybe, years and years from now, it will achieve the kind of subversive cult-film status it deserves.
But someone (well, me) once said the only thing comedies have to be is funny. And this movie is dang funny. Need I remind anybody of the scene where Ace insists on dropping a slinky down the hundreds of steps leading up to a Buddhist temple? ("It was RIGHT there!") Or the slideshow in which Ace's hand appears to greedily devour a poacher's crotch? That's just hilarious!
The great thing about this movie is that it doesn't settle for outlandish set-ups that only seem to be jokes. This movie gets full bang for its comedic buck. Do we have a fight with a crocodile presented in-and-of-itself as humor? No! In a lesser film, perhaps. But Ace Ventura goes the extra mile, bringing us childish schoolyard taunts ("Stop hittin' yourself! Stop hittin yourself!") And is it enough to have Ace chasing the villain through the jungle in a monster truck? No - he actually pulls up next to him and utters a bon mot worthy of Groucho. Also, where did that monster truck come
from?! The sheer resolve not to explain the truck's presence is a sublimely satirical dig at movies that might place monster trucks in the jungle just for cheap, lazy wackiness.
This movie is anything but lazy. Jim Carrey, like no actor before him, pulls out all the stops as Ace Ventura. Is he milking things? Oh sure. He's milking things like Paganini milked the violin, or like Michelangelo milked the Sistine Chapel. He's inventing a manic persona so complete and fully realized, that it transcends standard comedy and achieves something mystical and poetic and truthful. And that's how it keeps from being annoying.
This film is too casually dismissed because it looks like a terrible movie. I was hesitant to watch it. But maybe, years and years from now, it will achieve the kind of subversive cult-film status it deserves.
Top Secret!
(1984)
Just some examples...
22 August 2001
I've seen this movie a dozen times, and the cow wearing boots still makes me chuckle.
Also, the introduction to Deja Vu. ("Have we not met before?") And the scale model of the castle. And the bit with the giant phone.
The list goes on and on.
Also, the introduction to Deja Vu. ("Have we not met before?") And the scale model of the castle. And the bit with the giant phone.
The list goes on and on.
Casablanca
(1942)
Why it's so great...
22 August 2001
Here's my humble breakdown of the elements that make this film so uncannily wonderful:
1) The Story. It's filled with memorable characters, exotic settings, and heroic adventure. (And a classic love story.)
2) The Cast. You've got the most charming anti-hero ever, one of Hollywood's most mystically beautiful actresses, and several of the best character actors ever to appear on-screen.
3) The Screenplay. So compact ... so economical ... so effective.
4) "As Time Goes By." Come on, do I have to spell that out?
1) The Story. It's filled with memorable characters, exotic settings, and heroic adventure. (And a classic love story.)
2) The Cast. You've got the most charming anti-hero ever, one of Hollywood's most mystically beautiful actresses, and several of the best character actors ever to appear on-screen.
3) The Screenplay. So compact ... so economical ... so effective.
4) "As Time Goes By." Come on, do I have to spell that out?
Tell Your Friends