Reviews

Me, Myself and Irene by Andres Gomez MadSounds Staff The Farrelly Brothers and Jim Carrey, two comic institutions, have come together to make a movie that’s so funny and gross yet light-hearted and innocent, that you can enjoy it on a comedic and human level. This movie is actually a return to the types of films both Carey and the Farrelly Brothers did earlier in their careers. Carrey returns to physical comedy—which he is the master of—and the Farrelly Brothers return to the type of crude humor combined with likeable innocent heroes on the road ala Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber. There was only one actor and one writer/director team that could have pulled this movie off—fortunately they came together and created the funniest movie yet this year. Jim Carrey plays Charlie, a humble police officer for the state of Rhode Island. Charlie becomes the joke of the town when his wife cheats on him and leaves him behind with what are obviously not his children. Charlie is left numb by this and goes on living without standing up for himself, a target for ridicule. This is until Charlie finally snaps and his alter ego explodes—Hank—a rude and obnoxious self-indulgent jerk that does everything that Charlie probably wanted to do and suppressed all those years. In comes Irene (Renée Zellweger) as a lovable girl who is in trouble with some gangsters to provide Charlie/Hank with a love interest. Charlie, Hank and Irene go on the road and there's the setup for a movie with some of the funniest and grossest scenes to date as they run into the indescribable. Let’s just say that this is the first non-pornographic movie where a sex toy has had a substantial supporting role. The Farrelly Brothers just pound in the gags and outrageous scenes without holding back. You get the occasional scene that doesn’t work, but for the most part they keep you laughing from pure comedy and disbelief. Carrey is amazing in the way he provides such hilarious physical comedy and convincingly plays a person with multiple personality disorder, a role that allows him to build up an internal struggle until he finally beats himself to a bloody pulp. As far as comedy goes, this movie is at the top of the list. At first I had a hard time with Jim Carrey’s voice as Hank but then I realized that it’s a good thing you couldn’t understand everything that came out of Hank’s mouth, because what I did understand was outrageous. If you’re easily offended, or have a weak stomach for grossness, don’t go see this movie. The comedy here targets all groups that can possibly be made fun of, but at the same time does it in a very light-hearted and anti-stereotypical way (if that is possible). The best part of this movie is the unpredictability and crudeness of the comedy put together with likeable characters. This movie can be very enjoyable but I can easily see how somebody uptight could dislike it, so my recommendation is to go see it at your own discretion. 4 Headphones (out of 5)