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I wouldn't normally have left a review for this but stumbled on the shockingly low mark and was compelled to write something! What a sick joke this movie has such a low rating on IMDb. I have a sneaking suspicion it's down to the pathological Jim Carrey haters rather than based on the movie's merits. I'm giving it a star more than I would have otherwise as a protest vote.
I guess if a particular person in a movie annoys you that much then it's going to preclude it from being a good movie for you, *but surely* you can take a step back, and say something like "ah now wait a minute, that's just my personal dislike for an individual and it wouldn't really be fair to transfer that dislike onto any collective effort they happened to be a part of". What about the poor writer, director, other actors and the crew? I know I've made a big assumption there and it's possible people just didn't find it funny. I find that so hard to believe though - I've seen *a hell of a lot* of comedies over the last 40 years, and find the vast majority made from 1990 onwards to be safe, lazy and badly-written, or more recently trying to be zany or alternative and failing miserably. However I found this surprisingly well-written, well-made and brilliantly-acted(comedy acting, not Oliver/Gielgud!) and all-round compelling and bloody hilarious.
I think it's a great idea - the central character's minor misdemeanour at the start results in immediate payback in the form of a demented psychopath taking over his life. It gets pretty dark in a couple of places which somehow makes the humour work better.
Whatever you think of Jim Carrey, the range of stuff he pulls off on screen is incredible. Like a reanimated old Vaudevillian on PCP. I found him totally convincing as the lonely Walter Mitty/psycho who really just needs a friend and uses what he knows best to make it happen. Broderick is a born fall guy and effortlessly provides the anything-for-a-quiet-life victim, ill-equipped to halt the psycho's hostile takeover of his life.
There's also a micro-element of social comment on using people, friendship, the abuse of power, and the influence TV can have on a person's life. Tutt and scoff all you want at that, but can you honestly say there's even that much depth in any other comedies made now? So for anybody who doesn't hate Jim Carrey, please don't listen to all the negative reviews and give this one a chance.
score 10/10
Jerominator 18 July 2013
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2834221/ |
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22-11-2019 08:06:29
