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ME,
MYSELF & IRENE review by C.J. Henderson
REVIEW: Hey, it's a new Jim Carrey film. Time to
throw all the kids in the car and head off to the multi-plex--right?
Ahhh, maybe not. Does that mean "Me, Myself & Irene" isn't
funny? No--it means that the "R" rating on this one means exactly
what it says. As always, I shall explain. Of course, this should be no surprise to audiences familiar with the filmmakers' careers. The co-writing, co-directing Farrelly Brothers have a track record of producing this kind of material. Their past efforts include "Dumb and Dumber," "Kingpin" and the 1998 hit, "There's Something About Mary." There is definitely a market out there for their humor given their successes. It is an acquired taste, to be certain. As Bradley Thomas, the Farrelly's producer says: "How do they keep within the limits of taste? They don't. They cross the line ... totally cross the line." Carrey's co-star this time, Renée Zellweger ("The Whole Wide World," "Jerry Maguire") sums it up in the same way. "There's good taste, there's bad taste, and there's the Farrelly's taste," she says. "I've never done anything like this in my whole life, ever! You can't imagine some of the stuff these guys come up with. I still can't believe it. My dad's not going to believe it. My dad can't see this movie!" Trust me, no one is exaggerating. This film gives America all the rubber penis jokes it needs. If you've been dying to see a man with a live chicken lodged "where the sun don't shine," this is the picture for you--especially if you're a big fan of unrelenting cursing. The curve I have to throw at you, however, is that I'm not saying this is a bad film. To the contrary, it's a wildly funny movie. Unfortunately, it's a poorly structured one, with story bits that peter out and trail off uselessly, idiot logic, and no sense of respect for anyone, especially its central characters. If you can get past that (and box office records for the Farrelly's previous films all point to the fact that a vast percentage of today's film-going public can) then you'll be in for a good time. As a whole, the movie is not the Farrelly's best. It isn't as well
structured as "Mary," and it's nowhere near as intelligent as "Kingpin."
It does have more likeable characters than "Dumb and Dumber," but
that's not saying much considering that even most children couldn't
warm up to the truly asinine morons Carrey and Jeff Daniels played
in that film. However, Carrey is at his absolute best. His rubber
body has rarely been used so completely as it is here. His facial
expressions are truly amazing. He's amazingly gifted as a physical
comedian, and he proves it here as he hasn't been able to for quite
a while. OFFICIAL
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SYNOPSIS:
Charlie Baileygates (Carry) is an 18 year veteran of "the greatest
law enforcement agency in America," the Rhode Island Highway Patrol.
His life is pretty good at first--new bride, new job, respect and
love, et cetera. However, it all goes downhill quickly. His wife
has an affair, and later leaves Charlie for a black dwarf, the father
of the three sons she also abandons. Charlie raises the boys as
his own. Over the years he turns his cheek to every insult and slight
rather than face his pain. Charlie allows the rage to build
within him until it spills out in a tidal wave of retribution through
a hyper-active alter-ego, Hank.