Movie Jail: This week's defendants is...Jim Carrey!
Oct. 1, 2012
Welcome to Movie Jail, a facility like any other, only its inmates are Hollywood writers, directors, actors and producers. This column will serve as a Movie Jail trial. We will put one defendant on trial; lay out arguments for the Prosecution and Defense. And we leave it up to YOU, the reader, to decide whether the defendant is guilty of his or her crime. What crime? The crime of consistently being a stinking shithouse.
The Defendant
Jim Carrey
The Case
The Prosecution: Fun With Dick & Jane, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Batman Forever, A Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Majestic*
Ladies and gentleman of the jury, it may seem that we are railroading comedic actors by putting guys like Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy on trial, but when the prosecution bears witness to these type of actors playing it safe, no longer pushing the comedic envelope, the prosecution has to step in. Like Eddie Murphy, what happened to Mr. Carrey? He started off creating some crazy characters for IN LIVING COLOR, and catapulted his career into the comedy stratosphere with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Dumb and Dumber. And then what happened? We don't begrudgeg Mr. Carrey for his dramatic turns in the fantastic The Truman Show, but we DO begrudge him for dipping into that kiddie pool of Mr. Popper's Penquin and the Dr. Suess nonsense one time too many. That, in the prosecution's charge, is what he's guilty of. We don't mind his dramatic work, but even then, they are too far in between and don't make as big of a splash as The Truman Show once did. A quick stint in Movie jail with Sandler and Murphy, and that should be enough to steer Mr. Carrey onto the road to redemption.
The Defense: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb & Dumber, Liar Liar, The Truman Show, The Cable Guy, I Love You Phillip Morris, Man on the Moon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*
Ladies and Gentleman of the jury, the defense feels that this is a way different case than the prosecution will have us believe. For one thing, Mr. Carrey has taken way more risks with his career in terms of his dramatic choices than Sandler and Murphy. You don't go from a $20 Million pay day to taking risks like The Truman Show, Man on the Moon or The Majestic. Both Truman and Moon are successful because of Mr. Carrey's performance. There isn't a guarantee that any one of those decisions would have a favorable outcome. Case in point, The Majestic, which has its fans, but bombed both critically and disastrously at the box office. Did that stop Mr. Carrey from taking chances? Absolutely not. When's the last time Sandler or Murphy took chances the way Carrey has? As for his foray into kids' movies, a man gotta eat! And we argue that those flicks are better than anything Murphy has done in years. Plus, we're all waiting for the next Jim Carrey comedy that'll bring him back to his former glory. Let's face it, he's got a better shot at it than anybody.
IN CLOSING...
So, what’s to be done with Mr. Jim Carrey? Is it a lost cause to expect another great Jim Carrey comedy? Or has he comfortably become Hollywood's Utility Star, seamlessly going from comedy to drama and back? Should he, as the prosecution suggests, be thrown in Movie Jail "Scared Straight" style so that he gets back to making better movies? And the most important question to be asked, once all evidence is taken into consideration, we ask you The Jury, is Jim Carrey GUILTY or NOT GUILTY? Let’s hear YOUR arguments, either side, by STRIKING BACK BELOW.
*The court recognizes that all movies are subjective, so relax.
WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?
LAST WEEK'S VERDICT
It is the jury's decision that after reviewing last week's evidence, the court finds Ben Stiller NOT GUILTY of all charges. The jury believes that Mr. Stiller's output has been more positive than negative, and the fact that he puts on acting/writing/directing/producing hats, lends credibility to his career as a Hollywood renaissance man. Now where's ZOOLANDER 2?
| PREVIOUS VERDICTS | |
| GUILTY | NOT GUILTY |
| Adam Sandler Eddie Murphy Vince Vaughn Tim Burton The Farrelly Brothers |
Robert De Niro Val Kilmer Nic Cage John Travolta Oliver Stone Ben Stiller |
| Extra Tidbit: | Who Should Take the Stand Next? Strike Back Below! |
|---|
| Source: | JoBlo.com |
|---|
NOT GUILTY
NOT GUILTY!!!
Not Guilty
Not Guilty.....Kick Ass 2
Not funny anymore..
Why is this man on trial? Not guilty!
Not guilty!
What?!
Hmm
Not Guilty!
Carrey is talented and I bet he will be awesome in Kick-Ass 2.. no question about it! Some of his movies were not good but at least he made them watchable
Carrey is talented and I bet he will be awesome in Kick-Ass 2.. no question about it! Some of his movies were not good but at least he made them watchable
He's had an interesting career since the days of ILC and stand-up. To this day Fire Marshall Bill is awesome. That old character aside, he's done more good than bad. Truman Show is still a fav movie for me. Great story, great performances, great movie. Grinch that stole Xmas, I personally loved it. To be honest, you can hate the movie ALL you want, but Jim's Grinch was very well done. Not only that but what wasn't mentioned was that he is taking another new risk into the super-hero
He's had an interesting career since the days of ILC and stand-up. To this day Fire Marshall Bill is awesome. That old character aside, he's done more good than bad. Truman Show is still a fav movie for me. Great story, great performances, great movie. Grinch that stole Xmas, I personally loved it. To be honest, you can hate the movie ALL you want, but Jim's Grinch was very well done. Not only that but what wasn't mentioned was that he is taking another new risk into the super-hero genre with Kick Ass 2. I look forward to seeing how that turns out.
Not Guilty!!
Not Guilty!
Not Guilty!
Not Guilty
And he's got 3 movies in the next few years that all look to be good. "Burt Wonderstone" "Kick Ass 2" and "Dumb and Dumber to". He just needs one last big drama hit, like "Truman Show", to get the oscar nomination he so rightly deserves, then he can fade into obscurity. He should also do more movies where he plays an older character, like this generations Christopher Lloyd
Next Defendant: Ivan
And he's got 3 movies in the next few years that all look to be good. "Burt Wonderstone" "Kick Ass 2" and "Dumb and Dumber to". He just needs one last big drama hit, like "Truman Show", to get the oscar nomination he so rightly deserves, then he can fade into obscurity. He should also do more movies where he plays an older character, like this generations Christopher Lloyd
Next Defendant: Ivan Reitman
This is the most unanimous Movie Jail I have ever seen
What?
P.S. I don't know why it double-posted.
P.S. I don't know why it double-posted.
What?
Guilty.
Tidbit: Johnny Moreno
Tidbit: Johnny Moreno
Not Guilty
NOT GUILTY.
NOT GUILTY.
Not Guilty
Not guilty
OPEN AND SHUT
NOT GUILTY
Not guilty.
NOT GUILTY
Not Guilty
Not Guilty
Not guilty
Really?
NOT GUILTY
Not Guilty
Not Guilty
NOT guilty
So I don't know Mr. Popper's Penguins is the only one really, but I've never seen it so can't make a judgement on it (it didn't look good, but since I
So I don't know Mr. Popper's Penguins is the only one really, but I've never seen it so can't make a judgement on it (it didn't look good, but since I haven't seen it I don't know, I'm not going to assume it's bad) so yeah, he's easily easily innocent. You go Jim!
Not Guilty
Jim Carry will never belong in movie jail, he transcends the possibility of movie jail.
Jim Carry will never belong in movie jail, he transcends the possibility of movie jail.
Not Guilty
Not guilty
not guilty
This is Jim-Freaking-Carrey. He's established enough cache with me that he'd have to strangle a puppy on live TV to lose my love.
Sidenote: The Majestic was actually pretty good. I accidentally watched the whole thing when it was on cable one time, and that's with commercials, so the movie was like four hours long.
Second Sidenote: He's still my quirky choice for Roland the Gunslinger, in about ten years.
This is Jim-Freaking-Carrey. He's established enough cache with me that he'd have to strangle a puppy on live TV to lose my love.
Sidenote: The Majestic was actually pretty good. I accidentally watched the whole thing when it was on cable one time, and that's with commercials, so the movie was like four hours long.
Second Sidenote: He's still my quirky choice for Roland the Gunslinger, in about ten years.
NOT GUILTY
Not Guilty
NOT GUILTY
Not Guilty
GUILTY
Regarding his dramatic roles (oh, pleeze!) he's just using the Truman template again and again; Humble nice guy learning more about his relationship with the world and life around him (most notably Majestic & Number 23) with MoTM being the exception.
......anytime now
PS - Extratidbit: Halle Berry or
Regarding his dramatic roles (oh, pleeze!) he's just using the Truman template again and again; Humble nice guy learning more about his relationship with the world and life around him (most notably Majestic & Number 23) with MoTM being the exception.
......anytime now
PS - Extratidbit: Halle Berry or is that something reserved for Movie Hotties?
GUILTY.
And even if he wasn't a terrible excuse for a human being, the overwhelming majority of his films suck.
And even if he wasn't a terrible excuse for a human being, the overwhelming majority of his films suck.
Not Guilty
Not Guilty
NOT GUILTY
Not Guilty
NOT GUILTY
NOT GUILTY.
NOT GUILTY!
There are two Jim Carrey's in my mind. The comedian, who is struggling, and the actor, who needs to be seen more of. Having said all that, unlike Murphy and Sandler, Jim Carrey isn't some mega producer of shit. Every new Jim Carrey movie (Poppers and the Bruce Almighty sequel aside) has the potential to be his next big comeback vehicle. And with Burt Wonderstone
There are two Jim Carrey's in my mind. The comedian, who is struggling, and the actor, who needs to be seen more of. Having said all that, unlike Murphy and Sandler, Jim Carrey isn't some mega producer of shit. Every new Jim Carrey movie (Poppers and the Bruce Almighty sequel aside) has the potential to be his next big comeback vehicle. And with Burt Wonderstone and Kick Ass: Balls to the Wall on the way, we've got two more reason to be hopeful. He still knows how to entertain, even when he's in sub-par material (he was the best thing about that Grinch movie).
If anything, he's been suffering not so much from poor movies as he has from being absent. He doesn't have the output a lot of his peers do. I think it's because, minus a few paycheck movies, he actually might care about making something actually good. Or at least trying to make something good.
I loved him as a kid and thanks to Eternal Sunshine, he'll always be not guilty.
I loved him as a kid and thanks to Eternal Sunshine, he'll always be not guilty.
NOT GUILTY
Not guilty
Then maybe after that he can another indie or dramatic piece.
Then maybe after that he can another indie or dramatic piece.