Fun With Dick and Jane Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)December 20th, 2005
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In FUN WITH DICK AND JANE, Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) gets terminated, bankrupted, deported and blackmailed. And that's not all. Even his lawn gets repossessed.
But it wasn't always bad. As the story opens -- "A long time ago ... the year 2000" -- Dick is singing joyfully in elevator, since he's on his way to the top, quite literally. He is heading for that almost mythical 51st floor where the company's CEO has his palatial suite of offices. As he did in ELIZABETHTOWN, Alec Baldwin portrays a larger-than-life corporate executive with gusto. Actually, he was much funnier in ELIZABETHTOWN, an unrated movie that few people saw.
Dick is to be promoted to the coveted title of VP of Communications, which means that he has to go on TV to deliver the quarterly forecast. In a ridiculous but no less funny story, which is a remake of the 1977 film staring George Segal and Jane Fonda, Dick has to watch his company's stock go from 105 to worthless while he is on the air. Stocks do go to zero but not in mere minutes. Although this and other parts of the comedy take liberties with reality, the story is always grounded in enough truth to make the humor really hit home. In fact, parts will probably be somewhat painful to watch by those who made and lost their fortunes during the dot-com boom.
Carrey, ably assisted by Téa Leoni, as his wife Jane, chews up the scenery as usual. Well, actually not quite as usual, which is one of the movie's few downsides. For some reason, director Dean Parisot, who is probably best known for his no-holds-barred GALAXY QUEST, restrains Carrey needlessly. Carrey's wild physical mannerisms aren't used nearly as often as they should be. But a second-rate Jim Carrey movie is still better than most comedies.
While briefly rich, Dick convinces Jane to quit her travel agent job. In no time at all, they lose everything and find that they aren't particularly good at more menial jobs. Their solution is to rob banks. Well, not exactly. They start small by stealing a slushie from a convenience store. Carrey and Leoni have good chemistry together, and the whole middle act of the movie, in which they rob everyone using elaborate getups, is the best part of the picture.
Although the ending has a nice, small twist, the whole last act meanders, not sure if wants to strive for social commentary or laughs. On the whole, however, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE passes the ultimate test. It has way more than the requisite number of big laughs. Even if it is more like two thirds of a really good movie, it is still certainly worth seeing.
FUN WITH DICK AND JANE runs 1:25. It is rated PG-13 for "brief language, some sexual humor and occasional humorous drug references" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
My son Jeffrey, age 16, and his girlfriend Yasmin, also 16, both gave it ***, and both remarked that this wasn't Carrey's best. He said that he liked but found it depressing in parts. She said it was sad, and she wished they had used more of Carrey's facial expressions.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Wednesday, December 21, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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