Reviewed by Lars Lindahl (larsattacks@mail.com)
"Me, Myself and Irene" (2000) Grade: B-
Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly Written by Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly and Mike Cerrone Starring Jim Carrey, Renee Zelwegger, Chris Cooper, and Robert Forster
Did you guffaw watching Edward Norton give his own face a black eye in Fight Club, or better yet, Jim Carrey "kick his own a-" in Liar, Liar? If so, Me, Myself, And Irene may be just the cup of tea you've been looking for. See Carrey punch himself. See Carrey kick himself. See Carrey throw himself out of a moving car. And that's only a small segment of the latest Farrelly Farce. Enough gags for five movies, Irene, like all of the Farrelly Brothers films, should be great fun if you leave your respectability at the front entrance.
Jim Carrey takes a break from Oscar quest and returns to the roots that made him larger than life. He plays Charlie, a kind, passive wimp that's suffered from a lot of stress over the past couple of decades. His beautiful wife fell in love with another man, leaving him all alone to take care of their three African American children (see movie for an explanation). Instead of getting angry or taking revenge, Charlie just lets it be. As a member of the Rhode Island police department, Charlie is picked on and bossed around by everyone in the community, young and old. Once again, Charlie lets it be. Until one day, Hank enters the scene.
Hank is the other half of Charlie's split personality; he's the one trapped inside the body unable to come out for a little payback. But when Hank finally busts loose, revenge has never been funnier. Soon the two personalities are fighting over the same girl, Irene (Renee Zelwegger), an innocent golf course supervisor all of the stereotypical baddies are after.
Me, Myself, and Irene starts off with some huge laughs and doesn't let up until half way through. Unfortunately, the second half loses so much energy that compared to the first half it will be hard to sit through. Sure there are some clever quips here and there but it is nothing like the rapid fire of jokes thrown at you during the first forty five minutes. The film just takes a wrong turn towards conventionality, and from the Farrelly Brothers past work, this is unexpected.
Carrey gives a wonderful performance; both physically and verbally. As Charlie, he is hysterical because he is so pathetic; a bumbling oaf of a protagonist who couldn't be more of antihero. As Hank, the character is to Rhode Island what Shaft is to New York. He's got an exaggerated "cool guy" voice, a bible full of one liners and he takes the law into his own hands. But poor Hank is stuck in a puny body; with a figure like this - how is he supposed to win any bar fights?
The rest of the cast does a nice job settling for second place to Carrey's dominance. Like There's Something About Mary, Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber, odd supporting characters are inevitable. Charlie's triplets are very funny as geniuses who are heavily influenced by the vocabulary of foul mouth comics such as Richard Pryor or Chris Rock. And there are others (humans and animals) who should remain nameless to heighten your enjoyment. Zelwegger is satisfying enough as the girl Charlie/Hank go gaga over. She is never given a chance to deliver any funny lines but she sets up Carrey for quite a few and I suppose that is her purpose in the film.
This is Carrey's show though and he knows how to control a movie like the best of them:
Who's the cop that will cop out when there's danger all about? Hank! Can you dig it?
Grade: B-
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