Spotlight on... Jim Carrey

Happy Day 3 of Blogmas! Today's blog will be about one of all my all time favourite actors. Jim Carrey!

Since I can remember, I have always been influenced by Jim Carrey. I grew up being introduced to his classics, and discovered his more recent work myself, and loved every single second we have shared together. Carrey and his movies defined parts of my life in very huge ways. He is one of my absolute favourites, and I owe many of my laughs to this man.

Here are a few of my all time favourite Carrey movies and why I love them so much.

1. The Mask (1994)

The Mask is one of the first comedies I ever remember seeing. 27 years later, and this arguably is still one of the funniest Carrey movies, potentially even comedy movies of all time.

This movie also happens to be one of the most quoted movies of my life. Being the youngest in the family of 90’s babies, this film was on repeat, and still, in 2021, are quotes from this movie repeated by my brothers and cousins over and over again, almost like our own little language from our childhood. I watched this movie every single time I went to my grandparents house on VHS and whenever I rewatch it, I am taken back to that time of love, laughs and family. I couldn’t think of a better person to play the role of Stanley Ipkiss and simultaneously, The Mask. His outlandish and exaggerated performance is what makes the movie so incredible. He manages to create this alter-ego that is completely bonkers but is rooted in a gentle and lost man just trying to get through life.

2. Dumb and Dumber (1994)

This was the first Jim Carrey movie I ever saw and it made me fall in love with him and his acting, and from then on he was been one of my favourites. The pairing of Carrey and Jeff Daniels is comedy genius and the two are so amazing together in this movie. It features a plethora of memorable scenes, but my favourite of the movie is when Harry and Lloyd pick up the hitchhiker and begin to harass him. “Saddle Up Partner”. Driving down a highway in a car that looks like a fluffy dog, they begin to ask the hitchhiker if he would like to hear the most annoying sound in the world, and hilarity ensues. The 1990’s were such an important time for Carrey and these roles truly were life changing for him, and for audiences. Lloyd Christmas is an iconic character who will be forever remembered by Carrey fans and the rest of the world.

3. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

Whilst I do love the first movie, I must argue that the sequel is so much better. Just incase you forgot, When Nature Calls gives us incredible scenes such as the ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang/Like a Glove scene’, ‘The Monopoly Man’ and arguably the funniest scene of all, the ‘Undercover Rhino’ scene. Whilst this role is quite similar to many of Carrey’s other roles with the heavy use of slapstick and silly comedy, find me another actor, present day, that does this genre as well as Jim. He was absolutely born to play these sorts of roles. What I appreciate about Carrey and his choices of characters, is that his characters are often super child like and daft, yet they are ageless and timeless. I still find this movie as funny now as I did when I first watched it, and I think that is testament to Carrey’s acting ability.

4. The Truman Show (1998)

I think this may have been the first time I saw Carrey in a more serious role and I was so shocked by just how amazing he can do serious movies. Not only is this movie so incredibly moving and thought-provoking, but it also captures a rare form of voyeuristic humanity that is so rarely seen in movies, and it is done in such a way that makes it both incredibly fascinating and creepy. The fact that Carrey was not even nominated for an Oscar for this role tells you everything you need to know about the academy.

Good Morning. And in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night!

Notable Performances:

• Liar Liar

• Bruce Almighty

• Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

• Sonic the Hedgehog and his role as Mr Robotnik.

And with Christmas just around the corner, we cannot forget the infamous Grinch!

Jim Carrey is a force to be reckoned with. And whilst, in recent times, he has taken on more unconventional (and weird) roles, his comedic timing, incredible slapstick ability and power to command an audience and make them feel something, happy or sad, for 2 hours is one of the biggest achievements for an actor. Serious or silly, Carrey allows us, even for a fleeting moment, to be a child again, to fall in love and laughter and I love him for that.