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Me, Myself & Irene Customer Reviews (22 - 24 of 43 Reviews)

I love Jim Carrey believe me :)
A Farrelly brother movie has a certain feel. There's always a uniqueness, always taking it one step further than the normal person would - Jim Carrey lighting his farts in Dumb and Dumber, Woody Harrelson "milking the cow" in Kingpin, The singer in There's Something About Mary - but this film doesn't have that. The closest it gets is with the character "Whitey" - and for about 5 minutes it feels like a Farrelly brothers movie. Laughing so hard you don't catch the next joke.

I wonder why this happened and would assume that the pressure of having a 20 million dollar actor changes the way a writer and director would write and act. There are some funny parts in this, don't get me wrong. The dwarf limo driver stealing his girlfriend, his young boys who are "tan all year long," but that's the point - the funny parts generally involve subplots and the movie focuses too hard on Carrey/Zellweger. Carrey is only funny as Hank, and only remotely. Drowning the child, etc. But the movie just doesn't ever switch it into high gear. I think my point can best be explained at the very end of the movie, during the credits. They show a cut scene where Whitey is looking through his binoculars/glasses and sees an airplane - in the film, he just sees people. In the cut scene, he sees someone mooning the world out of the window. Another cut scene, involves an 'American Pie' type scene, where Jim makes love to a watermelon. The scene was cut, but there's still a watermelon in the corner of the room in the movie, with a strange hole in the middle.

I can't quite explain why this movie just didn't do it - and therein I would encourage you to see it. If nothing else, you'll get a horrible way to refer to Albinos (as they gave us for mentally handicapped people with Matt Dillon's "goofy bastards in There's Something About Mary). Give it a try.

And a little aside - Now, for those of you who have seen this movie, imagine for a second Chris Farley playing the lead role - I think that'd be absolutely hilarious. But for whatever reason, Carrey just didn't ignite the screen as he should.

Carrey, Carrey And Renee
The Farrelly brothers strike again, with a movie that is alternately outrageous, gross, stupefying, visually eclectic, unpredictable and, most importantly, hilarious. With "Me, Myself & Irene," the same zany duo that brought us "There's Something About Mary," have outdone themselves, and this time around they have Jim Carrey, again, to boot. If ever there was a marriage made in cinematic comedic heaven, it's Carrey and the Farrelly brothers. "Dumb and Dumber" (which also starred Carrey) was just a warm up for this one, though. Here Carrey plays an eighteen year veteran of the Rhode Island highway Patrol, whose wife left him early in his career, not long after delivering triplets (all boys), the father of whom Charlie (Carrey) obviously is not. Mild mannered, good guy Charlie never questions the lineage, however, and when the story picks up, the three are highly intelligent (their parents were both MENSA presidents), strapping (to say the least) boys, who share a loving relationship with their father. Charlie is just too good for his own sake, though, and after years of suppressed anger and avoiding any kind of confrontation, the dam finally bursts. His psychological needs have created a split personality, and "Hank" emerges with a vengeance. He quickly winds up in trouble and on medication, but it's only the beginning for him. He's assigned to take a prisoner, Irene (Renee Zellweger), to upstate New York, where she is wanted on a bogus hit-and-run beef. The real problem is, a former boyfriend thinks she's been privy to some shady dealings in which he's been involved, that have to do with his golf course (where she was greenskeeper), and the DEQ. Soon Charlie and Irene are being pursued by a wrong cop (Chris Cooper) and a crooked DEQ agent (Richard Jenkins), and "Hank" takes over when Charlie just can't stand the heat. And so begins the laugh filled adventures of Charlie, Hank and Irene. Jim Carrey really breaks loose in this one, in what amounts to a duel role. Charlie is such a nice guy, totally benign, who gets no respect on the job or from the people in town, but who is nevertheless a stand-up fellow and good father. When Hank emerges, though, all bets are off; affecting a Clint Eastwood, "Dirty Harry" style vocal rasp and an intimidating demeanor, the least civic infraction or personal affront no longer goes unattended. If there was ever any doubt about it, Carrey here proves that he is nothing less than a master of physical transformation; his initial change into Hank is awesome to behold, and as the story progresses he slips effortlessly between one character and the other, and his final confrontation (with himself) is a riot. And he does it by dexterously taking it to the edge without going completely over the top into the ridiculous. Zellweger gives a notable performance, as well; initially somewhat nondescript, she warms up as things move along, and ultimately her Irene emerges as a rather endearing character. It's a tough part, given the fact that she is competing, somewhat, in what is predominately a showpiece for Carrey, but she is just winsome enough to keep herself in the running throughout. The supporting cast includes Robert Forster (the Lieutenant, Captain, Colonel) and Michael Bowman (Whitey). As with all of their movies, this offering from Peter and Bobby Farrelly is not going to be for everyone; it is politically incorrect and anything but subtle from beginning to end. But it is funny, at times hysterical, and it's one of Carrey's best performances, one in which he aptly demonstrates just how versatile he really is. There are some over-the-top, gross-out sight gags, definitely not for the squeamish, and some of the language is off-color. If you're familiar with the Farrelly's previous work, you'll know what to expect; if not, just steel yourself and get ready for a wild ride. No matter what your personal sensitivity level is, you're going to laugh at "Me, Myself & Irene," even if it's in spite of yourself. At the very least, you're going to find out what all the fuss is over Jim Carrey. One way or another, this is one movie you're not likely to forget, and the chances are pretty good that you're going to want to see it again.

Farrelly Brothers flounder in Carrey comedy
I am an admirer of Peter and Robert Farrelly. They directed the underrated Kingpin and the wildly successful There's Something About Mary, one of my favorite comedies of the 1990s. One of my guilty pleasures is Dumb and Dumber, which they wrote. Now comes Me, Myself and Irene, and I find myself taken aback. The bawdy and sometimes infantile jokes are there. The gross-out humor is there. The mad characters are present. The movie is as politically incorrect as one could hope for. All the Farrelly ingredients are in place, except for one. The humor doesn't gel. The movie simply isn't very funny, and being funny is the only reason for a Farrelly brothers picture to exist.

Jim Carrey is Charlie, a Rhode Island State trooper. Charlie has been letting people run him over all of his life. No one takes him seriously, either at work or at home. On his wedding day, his wife falls for an African-American chauffeur who is also a dwarf. When she has triplets, Charlie refuses to admit they these boys obviously are not his children. Soon the wife and the midget run away, leaving Charlie to raise the boys. The movie then moves forward a couple of decades. Charlie is still a laughing stock to everyone but the triplets. One day a girl named Irene Renee Zellweger] is arrested for a traffic violation. It turns out the Feds are looking for her because they suspect she has a lot of information on her ex-boss, who is a really nasty fellow. Charlie is assigned to take her back to New York State. Shortly before this, Charlie, having had enough of being pushed around, develops a second personality, a guy named Hank. Hank is everything Charlie isn't. This is one mean and confrontational alter ego. Hank can come out and take Charlie's place at any time, and this causes a lot of trouble. The problem becomes worse when both Charlie and Hank fall for Irene.

I don't know enough about screenwriting to tell you exactly what would have saved Me, Myself and Irene. I do know that, as written, there are too many comic setups that don't work. Even the remarkable Jim Carrey was unable to make me laugh more than two or three times, and heaven knows no one tries harder than he does. The main problem seems to be that the Farrellys didn't know when to give up on a running joke. Take the triplets, for example. They grow up to be geniuses, literally capable of being rocket scientists. They have been accepted into Ivy League colleges, yet, not only do they use the 'MF' word constantly, they are the only characters in the movie to do so. If they were minor characters seen only briefly, this might have been humorous. As it is, they are seen throughout the movie, and the joke becomes quickly tiresome. Later, we meet an albino waiter who is present though the rest of the picture. He, too, is someone you wish would go away. If you look at earlier Farrelly movies, as well as those of comic masters like Mel Brooks and the Zucker brothers, you will note that they work because they constantly move on to the next joke. What few running jokes that are utilized are used sparingly and to good effect.

Me, Myself and Irene is merely a pothole in the careers of Carrey and the Farrellys. They are too smart not to learn from their mistakes, and I look forward to their next efforts. Knowing this doesn't make this movie any less painful to watch.

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