Introduction
Alongside art, comedy, and music, cinema is one of the most subjective forms of media. However, since you have joined us here on this particular site, let’s say it is also the most subjective. And that is why it remains the most entertaining and inspiring!
Everyone will happily discuss their favorite film, actor, genre, etc. But this is barely scratching the surface of what moving pictures mean to many. Debates rage about Disney-era Star Wars. Were the early funny Woody Allen films his best? Which is the most faithful Stephen King adaptation? Do audiences have franchise fatigue? How do you pronounce Basinger? To name but a few. One such debate that enthuses more warmth than most – due to its more celebratory nature – is What Was The Best Year for Cinema?
As we are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of one of the forerunners, 1994, Cinema Scholars will be taking a monthly retrospective of a pick of the cinematic highlights of this truly golden trip around the sun. Welcome to Part Two: February…and meet Jim Carrey.
In the Early 90s, Comedy Needed a Facelift
There were a handful of funny films in the early nineties, and some stars were about to shine. While others were starting to dim.
The OG SNL crew was in hibernation. They were either taking part in below-par cash-ins for maximum payouts for minimal effort, making cameos, or living off past glories awaiting legendary status/legacy sequels. Steve Martin was arguably stuck in his ‘not funny’ phase. Robin Williams was experimenting with dramedies. And the likes of Adam Sandler and Mike Myers (who had made a splash with Wayne’s World, 1992) were still a few years away from their box office dominance.
Comedy films had also become inconsistent vehicles for 80s action stars, with Arnie becoming a Kindergarten Cop (1990) and then subsequently tricking Sly into making Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992). This was after Bruce Willis rocked the genre to its core with Die Hard (1998).
However, there was a gap in the market. A vacuum where a performer could come and grab the comedy genre by the scruff of the neck, and there was one young comedian who thought ‘Allllright-y then!’
James Eugene Carrey
If you have not heard of him…you are on the wrong site. Carrey is a Canadian-American actor, born in 1962 who spent much of the 80s honing his stand-up routines and gaining recognition for his impersonations and physical (and facial) comedy. He got a career step up on the sketch comedy show In Living Color (1990-1994) alongside members of the Wayans dynasty. His appearances and small screen personas, including the recurring character Fire Marshall Bill, would soon leap to the big screen.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: Released February 4, 1994
The story is of course absurd. A private detective, who works exclusively in the field of lost pet cases. But with a gravity-defying coif, loud Hawaiian shirt, talking backside, and a grin visible from space, Carrey made it work!
With the supporting cast, including Courtney Cox who was about to hit superstardom herself in 1994 with the launch of Friends, playing it relatively straight; Carrey’s exaggerated swagger, body contortions, and vocal flexing made him seem even more like a living cartoon. What was more important, Ace had charm, charisma, and a heart.
See the first time he enters his apartment and the joy on his face when all the rescued animals emerge from their hiding places. He’s not in this game for the money. He genuinely loves animals. And his interactions with them make him fun to be around, as opposed to irritating. Ace is unpredictable and loud. But he’s also a surprisingly innovative detective. Check out the sequence when he is trying to investigate which footballer has a missing stone from his game ring.
The Mask: Released July 28, 1994
When Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was released, Carrey’s next film, an adaptation of a dark, violent, cult comic, The Mask, was in post-production.
The Mask, tells the story of a lonely, ‘repressed and hopeless romantic’ bank teller called Stanley Ipkiss who, whilst thinking he is saving someone from drowning (who turns out to be several garbage bags) finds a magical wooden mask. And when he wears it – he’s transformed into a whirlwind of magical, green-faced mischief!
What many audiences forget upon reflection is that they were watching a Jekyll and Hyde story. One in which Carrey nails both roles. As both the shy, empathetic Stanley and ‘love-crazy wild man’ Mask, Carrey equally shines. He made both roles distinct but both held the audience’s attention and affection. All to Carrey’s credit, he certainly earned his Golden Globe nomination.
The film also earned the actor superstar status and a few more catchphrases to his list. ‘Smokin’!’ and ‘Somebody Stop Me!’ joined the lexicon alongside ‘La-hoo-sa-her!’ and the aforementioned ‘Alright-y then!’ The film itself earned $351.6 million worldwide and was 1994’s fourth-highest-grossing movie, behind True Lies, Forrest Gump, and The Lion King.
Dumb and Dumber: Released December 16
Jim Carrey built on his success by adding another hilarious moviegoing experience to his resumé, while also building his bank balance. The success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Carrey’s subsequent position as a highly in-demand movie star, led to a jump in salary from $400,000 to $7 million.
Dumb and Dumber was written and directed by The Farrelly Brothers, with Carrey playing the part of limousine driver Lloyd Christmas. Where Lloyd differs from Ace and Stanley/The Mask is that…he’s dumb! His previous characters were sharp, intelligent, and problem solvers. Lloyd admits he has to eke his way through life. Furthermore, and often hilariously, Lloyd doesn’t know he’s dumb. Lloyd thinks he’s a sharp, intelligent, problem solver…with a ‘rapist’ wit.
Where Carrey’s performance differs from the other two 1994 offerings is that he is part of a double act. Dumb and Dumber is an excellent buddy comedy. Traditionally buddy movies work if the buddies in question are a variation of The Odd Couple, but Carrey’s Lloyd and the mighty Jeff Daniel’s loveable oaf Harry Dunne are indeed dumb and dumber. Which is which…you decide.
The two are a joy to watch together, onscreen and offscreen after all these years. Their various, simple van and eatery exchanges are comedy gold. Their encounter with Seabass and their reactions to atomic peppers involve ketchup and mustard. Lloyd also needs many empty beer bottles while on the road and sharing the most annoying sound in the world with their would-be assassin. Here Carrey was able to step back in moments and let someone else shine in his presence. These moments work as Carrey and Daniels are in it together and bring the kind of comedy synergy filmmakers can only dream of. There’s a lot of love there.
Dumb and Dumber may be the film’s title and it contains its fair share of toilet humor (literally in one scene, Lloyd spikes Harry’s tea with Turbo Lax). However, the comedy itself is not ‘stupid.’ Yes, Harry and Lloyd are, but they are harmless and caring. They often act in their self-interest and go on a spending spree when given the opportunity. But they are ultimately human. They just want to save money and open their pet store. Harry loves dogs and Lloyd wants to have somebody.
Post-1994
With three films Carrey had transformed the comedy landscape. With three very different films he was able to show his emotional as well as comedic range, his lack of vanity (he did Lloyd’s hair himself and pulled the cap from his tooth!), and the amount of energy he was willing to put into his performances. He became the type of movie star where his name on the poster was enough to sell tickets.
In the years that followed, he played another comic book character and brought his unsanctioned buffoonery to Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) then became Hollywood’s first $20 million man in Ben Stiller’s The Cable Guy (1996) opposite Matthew Broderick.
Following the trend in comedy performers before him, Carrey would go on to pursue more serious projects to varying levels of success with The Truman Show (1998), Man on the Moon (1999), The Majestic (2001), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), attempting to become the modern version of his cinematic hero, James Stewart.
