Aw man. I like Jim Carrey - "he's my favourite Canadian comedian" I say, whenever he is brought up (usually this is met with "really? I didn't think anyone funny was from Canada" or something along those lines, unless they've already heard me say this, in which case the reaction is a roll of the eyes - yeah, I know what you're thinking, thanks). I know he's done a lot of crap (wasn't there one with him and a bunch of penguins?) but like John Travolta I'd like to believe that he's actually awesome. I haven't often seen him in serious roles, but I'd like to believe that he does well in them. I'm going to keep believing this, despite having seen this film.
It starts off somewhat strong - well not strong exactly, but acceptable - but after a while it becomes difficult to watch. Carrey was badly cast, and his little noises of brilliant humour feel out of place here. The plot mopes along, before making leaps forward seemingly randomly. It's absurd, it takes itself too seriously, and it's so overly dark that it becomes unintentionally funny as it turns into a self parody. The characters are run of the mill and the acting is passable, though the script is often terrible. There were some nicely shot sequences while he read the book, but after a while they numb the viewer with their overly shadowed comic book style. The twists and turns rarely make sense, yet somehow simultaneously manage to be completely foreseeable.
Don't bother watching it, watch 'The Truman Show'. I'd love to give it a 23, but it's just not that good. But hey: 1+2=3, 3x9=27 and 2+2=4, 27-4=23.
The Number 23: 12.9