Alllllllrighty Then: Will Jim Carrey Make a Comeback in 2013?

Jim Carrey

There’s a lot of things that I miss from the 90s, like Tamagotchis, gangsta rap and Power Rangers. While I’ve proudly replaced most of these fads with modern ones, one obsession that I can’t renounce is Jim Carrey. His exaggerated face, expert mimicry and slapstick humor made him the funniest man of that decade. Currently, however, his career is in a very tepid state. In the last 10 years, Carrey has achieved moderate success. He’s even given us a few memorable characters. But nothing can compare to what he achieved in the era of slap bracelets and VCR’s.

This year, Carrey will return to the screen in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Kick-Ass 2. In the first, we’ll see him as a David Blaine-type street magician who specializes in dangerous acts. The latter will show him in a completely different light. He’s playing the born-again ex-mobster Colonel Stars and Stripes. A red-band trailer for the comic book sequel hit the web a few days ago, and Carrey’s grizzly character is the most arresting part about it. Even though both of these roles are supporting ones, Carrey has a great reputation for being the best thing about the movie.

Bruce Almighty, Fun With Dick And Jane, The Cable Guy, and yes, even Man on the Moon, weren’t the best of movies (they lacked depth or were too predictable), but Carrey’s presence elevated them. And that’s because he’s extremely talented and whether it’s comedy or drama, he always gives it his all.

Jim Carrey

Ace Ventura, Lloyd Christmas, Fletcher Reede, Stanley Ipkiss and Andy Kaufman are some of Carrey’s best roles and also some of the best comedy characters in movie history. But they’re all personalities from 90s comedies. In the last decade, Carrey has given just one truly memorable performance. Care to make a guess? It’s Joel Barish from the fantastic romance drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Carrey’s gripping performance was completely free of his highly-energetic routine. This movie showed a Carrey that we had never seen. True, The Truman Show offered a more somber Jim Carrey, but not like this.

So with these new movies coming out, and the supposed Dumber And Dumber sequel in the works, can Carrey’s career get its groove back?

As a devout Jim Carrey fan, I get angry that his great talents are wasted on lackluster projects. He’s not Adam Sandler. He deserves high-quality material because he really is a comedy genius. It’s baffling to me that no respected filmmaker is asking for him; that no one is writing material just for him. It would be great to see him in a Paul Thomas Anderson, Richard Linklater or Jason Reitman film. Hopefully, these two new movies will remind filmmakers of the genius that is Jim Carrey. No one can do what he does, and I refuse to believe that his best performances are behind him.

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5 Comments

  1. I’ve always thought it was his choice – I seem to remember from an interview he did on the Number 23 that he felt he was stuck playing ‘the idiot’ and wanted to show he had more to offer.

    Personally I think that his comedy roles are so much better than when he tries to do drama. A lot of other actors could fill those roles and not change the ‘feel’ of the movie too much, but only he could’ve played Ace, or Lloyd, etc.

  2. Wonderstone sank like a stone but Kick-Ass 2 looks great and Carrey seems good in the trailer but that voice he’s doing seems like it can get grating over an hour and a half.

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