Fun with Dick and Jane

In previews and early reviews this movie was called "one of the funniest movies ever" and I was eager to see it. But after a while it began to get called "the worst Jim Carrey movie ever". I still thought I should see it, being a big Jim Carrey fan, plus I haven't always agreed with the critics. After seeing it I can't say it's the funniest movie ever, but it definitely isn't the worst.

I have not seen the original version, but I'm sure there are some modern plot twists and of course original jokes. There are plenty of gags and funny situations that kept me entertained throughout and some really good ones that made me laugh hysterically. Many comedies are very silly which makes them so funny, but people have said that this movie is just silly and not funny at all, I can't agree. While there are some small parts that are just silly, the rest are not.

Acting wise it is quite good. Jim Carrey does his trademark craziness well in this one. The rest of the cast do well too.

Overall it's a funny, entertaining movie. If you feel like a light comedy with some good laughs, ignore the harsh critics and go and see it.

Jim Carrey is hard to beat in a role like this. He looks like the all American yuppie - tall, clean shaven, well dressed, and in control of his life - and his comedic delivery has been refined into a polished riff. All is believable when he lets loose because you know this is a guy who has a great sense of humor and he can get you to laugh until you lose your breath without grossing you out or making you groan at absurd silliness. Even while prancing or jabbing the air or contorting his face, Carrey is - hands down - the sexiest comedian on screen today. Tea Leoni is a good match for him because she too can be sexy while doing pratfalls or ending up with mud on her face. This is a dream coupling that should be repeated in more light comedies the way William Powell & Myrna Loy were paired in The Thin Man series.

I found this remake head and shoulders above the original because it had far more energy and there was more 'sympatico' in the match of personalities of Dick & Jane. The new version also has a much more important message about corporate shenanigans and its grave impact on modern society. The film moves at a quick pace and was too short for me, but that's only because I didn't want to leave these characters. They became that fun couple you always invite to your get-togethers because they are the life of every party.

This is the story of Dick, an ambitious marketing executive which is promoted to the top just on the day his corporation implodes due to some embezzlement scheme. The first 15 minutes (Dick's ascent) are really very, very funny - that's Jim Carrey at his best.

The movie's best part is when you see Dick and his wife falling all the way to level where survival is really a struggle - this is actually very moving. Their ensuing blotched criminal career is on the other hand not so funny as you might expect -- you have the feeling that this is a very good serious movie trying to be funny just to meet the public's expectations.

I think the reason why this film wasn't so well-received was because of its serious theme as people expected it to be an out-and-out comedy. However, I think it touches on some very relevant issues, especially today when the economy is at a recession where people are losing their jobs, their houses and slowly everything they own. But coming, back to the comedy element, there's plenty of that and a lot to laugh about so I still don't understand all the negativity towards this fun movie. For me the funniest sequence was the swollen mouth sequence. Carrey and Leoni are awesome together. They make a great comedic pair on screen. Richard Jenkins is terrific too and Alec Baldwin isn't bad either. I haven't watched the original version but I saw an interview of Jim Carrey where he mentions that the movie is more relevant today than it was in 1977. I couldn't agree more.

Dick and Jane (Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni) were the very couple most people think about when they think "American." They were white, working, married with one kid, a dog, a BMW, and a house in the suburbs. Even their names were all-American. All they were missing was a picket fence. Their cookie cutter world came crashing down around them when Jane quit her job and Dick's company, Globodyne, went belly up. They were reduced to selling all of their worldly possessions, they even had to pay their child's nanny in small appliances.

When the bank came after their house, they drew a line in the sand. They would liquidate no more. It was time to get criminal.

"Fun with Dick and Jane" was plenty funny. I never knew the word "indicted" could be so hilarious. I suppose that's what happens when a failing company slaps a VP label on a guy and puts him in front of a television audience to field questions about a bogus earnings report. Jim Carrey was gold and Tea Leoni held her own. It was definitely fun with Dick and Jane.