Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

I don’t remember the first time I saw “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” but I do remember it being advertized on TV. The film is partially responsible for motivating me to become an impersonator and comedian. I am not impressed with the sick nature of the story and jokes. I wish the world could understand that you don’t need offensiveness to make people legitimately laugh. This movie would not have succeeded without Jim Carrey because you can’t imagine anyone else playing the title role. By the time he saw the script, it had been passed on by many others and had mustard stains on it. The movie went on to launch Jim’s career and made Ace a part of pop culture. The story is nothing special but the film has so many memorable moments thanks to Jim. I die laughing everytime I watch this film and the ending makes me cheer.

Jim’s performance is extremely funny but his impact on the film is best evidenced by his inclusion in the screenplay credit. I forget weather he rewrote the character or improvised so much on screen that he was given credit for writing the part of the movie. Either way, any scene with Ace is memorable. Fun fact: Carrey and Anthony Hopkins met once and discovered that they took the same approach in performing Ace Ventura and Hannibal respectively by basing their characters on animals. Some movies have a lot of memorable moments that make it special but “Ace Ventura” has every moment with our main character priceless. It would therefore take too much time to mention every one but if I were forced to pick my favorite scenes, it would be at Camp’s party and at Shady Acres. The moment when Ace acts out halftime in order to separate himself from the doctor of the metal institution is to die for, especially his impersonation of a marching band. Jim does something else with his character to make the movie funny; he fits in with no other character. He is so outrageous that he stands out completely in every scene.

“Ace Ventura” also has other elements that make it entertaining. I like Tone Loc's character. Emilio seems like such a cool guy and pal for Ace. His reaction to Ace's antics are funny. When Ace is not supposed to be outrageous, Jim does a good job with those scenes also such as when they find out about Roger Podacter’s death and in the office when they are looking for receipts. The scene concerning Podacter’s death is great because up until now, Ace has not fully proven himself as a smart detective. Also, his monologue in Podacter’s apartment earns Melissa’s respect. Ace also has that scene where he knows there is a connection between Finkle and Einhorn but can’t figure it out. This frustration he shows makes the payoff satisfying and funny. The best part of the script is the twist when Einhorn becomes a suspect because it is something we don’t really expect. I also love Dan Marino’s role as himself. He has comedic timing especially in his scenes with Ace.

Despite the unneeded vulgarity, this movie impacted pop culture and the career of Jim Carrey. It kicked off the tradition of a crude summer comedy. The film came out in 1994 along with 2 other classic Jim Carrey movies: “Dumb and Dumber” and “The Mask”. “Ace Ventura” was a reason those movies became box office successes and the next year saw Jim as the Riddler in “Batman Forever”. Jim Carrey was the funniest man in the mid 90’s in my opinion and the director of “Ace Ventura”, Tom Shadyac, would reap the benefits from this film also as he has made some funny movies in his career. I feel “Ace Ventura” will continue to entertain people for years to come thanks to Jim. The sequel also is noteworthy as Ace Ventura answers the call of nature but that is another review.

3.5 Stars