ME, MYSELF, & IRENE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: The Farrelly Brothers, more
tasteless and less manic than the Zucker
Brothers, give us Jim Carrey as a Rhode Island
State Trooper with a split personality. His
primary personality is a non-assertive nebbish,
his other side is an aggressive action-man who
is also a boorish jerk. There is little time
for a good story with all the puerile
scatological jokes. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), 0 (-4
to +4)
The American public was introduced to the subject of split personality with the 1957 film THE THREE FACES OF EVE. Two years later Hitchcock used the concept for horror impact in PSYCHO. Since then the concept has frequently been used in comedy, but rarely well. Steve Martin may have come the closest to a good comedy about multiple personality in ALL OF ME (though technically speaking that was more about spirit possession). With that possible exception the concept has never been used effectively in comedy. ME, MYSELF, & IRENE is not an exception.
Charlie Bailygates (played by Jim Carrey) is a gentle soul who happens to be a Rhode Island State Trooper. How he manages is unclear because people just laugh at him and figuratively walk all over him. The whole town knows he is a soft touch and a nice guy. And they rudely take advantage of his good nature. Even after his wife runs off with another man leaving him with three children he still cannot express his sorrow and anger. When it finally does come out it is as a fully formed second personality, Hank. But when Charlie is asked to escort Irene (Renee Zellweger) to New York and they runs afoul of some corrupt police, the extra personality comes in handy.
This film spreads itself thinly among three goals. It wants to be a chase film about police corruption, it wants to be a comedy about split personality, and it wants to mix in as many crude jokes as it can--the cruder the better. The three tasks are really more than it can handle well. We find out various people who are involved with the police corruption, but it is never explained what it all about. The schizophrenia plot is not very creative in its ideas and certainly leaves room for a sequel with all new jokes (Heaven help us). The scatological humor could work well with sufficient shock value, but even that is wearing thin. It can spice up a film that has enough else going for it, but by itself it does not make the film worth seeing. Less might very well be a little more here. Basically they need a plot that stands without the shock jokes. This one does not.
Jim Carrey will never be in the Dustin Hoffman range of actors in anything but paycheck, but here he has returned to the shock humor that gave him his start. He manages well as a physical comedian but the gags are stale. Renee Zellweger plays his bewildered foil in the kind of role Terri Garr used to take so well. She has already done better and more challenging work. We have the super-mellow Robert Forster who does not have a lot to do as Jim Carrey's superior in the state troopers. Almost directly opposite is Chris Cooper, who is getting a lot of roles these days. Where Forster seem so imperturbable, Cooper always looks like he is holding back a storm of emotion. He is probably wishing he could get more roles like OCTOBER SKY. I know I am.
This is standard summer fluff and probably not a film that will win any new fans for the Farrelly brothers comedies. I give it 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale. (If you see it, stay through the credits.)
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
Copyright 2000 Mark R. Leeper
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