Me, Myself & Irene

Directed by: Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly Written by: Bobby Farrelly Peter Farrelly Mike Cerrone Starring: Jim Carrey Renee Zellweger Chris Cooper Robert Forster Richard Jenkins Anthony Anderson Jerod Mixon Mongo Brownlee Michael Bowman Traylor Howard

I've been a big fan of the Farrelly brothers' movies for some times. So it was with great anticipation that I went to the preview of this movie. Over all the movie was very funny but it didn't quite hold up to my expectations.

The basic plot is that Charlie (Jim Carrey) is a Rhode Island state cop who never stands up for himself. Nobody takes him seriously because they know he is a sweet natured guy who will never cause a fuss. This leads to the formation of a second personality, Hank. Hank is everything Charlie is not. He's self-assured, confident, outspoken and prone to cheerfully giving in to all his desires. Charlie is given medication to control Hank. He is then assigned to escort a prisoner, Irene (Zellwegger), back to Massena, New York and then take a vacation to adjust to his medication.

There is a lot to like here so let me get to the negatives first. There is a bizarre complicated sub-plot involving some criminal types chasing Irene. This is explained in such a fleeting and unclear manner that I was constantly left wondering just why anyone was after her in the first place. This information wasn't crucial to the movie but it created this nagging feeling of confusion. The real point of the movie is Charlie/Hank but it's impossible to get entirely comfortable with the movie when it is hung on such a flimsy and confusing sub-plot.

The other negative is probably only going to bug a small portion of the movie going public but it is a portion that includes me. Much of the movie is concerned with traveling to Massena, New York. I went to college very close to that town. The locations and events in the movie that involved that town never looked at all right to me(the movie was mostly shot in Vermont). It's not really a big point but it was another thing that made it hard for me to accept some of the events in the movie. If they had just used a fictional town I wouldn't be mentioning this now.

What is good about this movie is Jim Carrey. The physical comedy that he pulls off in this movie is very near brilliant. This is an actor operating at his prime and Hollywood needs to keep feeding him fascinating characters to play. This isn't the completely over the top antics he used for movies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. Here he is very much in control of what he is doing. He always keeps himself grounded in the twin personalities of his characters. You can tell which personality is dominant by his face and posture alone. It almost seems a shame to use such talent in the service of vulgar jokes.

But then it wouldn't be a Farrelly brothers movie if it weren't for vulgar humor. Anyone can use low brow humor but these guys make an art form out of it. They always have a reason for their humor and never overplay a joke. They know how to drag out a gag to keep the audience laughing at the way it goes on and on and gets more disgusting as it goes on. But they always seem to know when to drop it and move on.

This movie belongs to Carrey completely but there are some other performances worth noting. Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon and Mongo Brownlee play Charlie's three grown sons. They work well together and steal a few scenes from more veteran actors. Renee Zellwegger is good but is mostly working hard to not be overwhelmed by Carrey's performance.

Disappointing is that Lin Shaye, who has appeared in all of the Farrelly brothers movies, was cut out entirely. The end credits contain photos of scenes and point out the people in the background with their names. The first such picture mentions that her part was unfortunately lost in the editing process. You should also stick out the credits for one last scene after they finish scrolling.

The movie is very funny but a bit uneven. There are patches where it can't seem to make up its mind whether to be serious or funny. Some of the gags unfortunately fall flat. This isn't their best movie but not the worst either. It was a better effort than Kingpin but not as funny as Dumb & Dumber. Their last movie, There's Something About Mary is still their best film to date. So if you are a fan of the Farrellly brothers you should enjoy yourself. Just don't expect them to top their last movie.

- John Shea