Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Wouldnât we all like to see that when the time comes to when we finally get to star in a movie in the lead comedy role, that role is one that seems perfectly tailor made for your particular brand of borderline (if not outright) insanity, up to and including being given a chance to have a hand in the script and story? Thus was the plum golden opportunity given to Jim Carrey, a guy who spent most of the 80s riding the supporting actor circuit before nabbing a spot on the so called more âurbanizedâ TV sketch comedy show In Living Color and then building up a decent enough roster of characters to finally be made this type of offer in 1994. And what resulted from that was something quite interesting and more importantly, watchable and entertaining. The (very) basic gist of the Ventura Pet Detective character was that he was a rabid animal lover and advocate for their rights, which fits perfectly with the stereotype that many people have anyway of these types (particularly PETA) being completely over the top loons. But there is much more to Ventura than just that, as the guy is literally a charismatic yet freakish misfit in his own right, someone who sticks out like a sore thumb whenever he happens to be around ânormalâ people, and thus possesses a near peerless ability to see their own flaws and to look down upon them (âLoserrrâ) while still acknowledging his own shortcomings. That also means that nearly everyone else in the cast is made to play straight man to him, with much of the humor coming from the fact that somebody who is so obviously wacked out of his mind is even ALLOWED to roam around society save for the facts that A) He is basically harmless, B) He actually possesses a very high intelligence level that borders on genius, and C) There is actually a legitimate method to his madness, with his in your face style of personality almost always having a purpose to either unnerve or disarm his intended target. The fact that this guy is a lot more complex than he appears to be in the filmâs trailers but yet still has an entire scene in a police station where he quite literally talks out of his rear end (âHello. I would like to ASS you a few questions!â) which in and of itself was something that many felt that Carrey was NEVER able to get over for the rest of his career and which many felt was the sole reason he was snubbed for Best Actor Oscar noms later on in his career for actual great performances in both Truman Show and Man On The Moon, stands as testament that even though he appears to be just a lovable kidâs character on the surface, his greatness truly lies in one being able to analyze the complex layers underneath, such as when he hurts the feelings of someone he likes with his insults and afterwards feels a twinge of remorse. The film begins with Ace dressed as a mock UPS delivery man bringing a package which he destroys with delightful glee en route to a gruff asshole played by legendary cameoing movie badass Randall âTexâ Cobb, but the package itself is secondary to rescuing the little dog he has in his possession and returning it to his sexy ex wife (Rebecca Ferratti) who offers Ventura hot passionate sex as his reward, something which he doesnât have to think too hard about accepting. The movie is set in Miami, Florida, and thus buys completely into the real life early 90s notion that their local NFL franchise in The Dolphins and their hugely popular Golden Boy Quarterback Dan Marino were always perpetually considered to be the uncrowned Super Bowl champions (and always would be, given that other teams, one after another especially the Cowboys, would always seem to be able to grab that brass ring that Marino and Don Shula never could, mostly because Shula foolishly built the entire team concept around putting Marino on a pedestal without having a more well rounded overall roster and gameplan for the whole team itself, certainly something that both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in later years were smart enough to realize) and with the storyâs fictional Super Bowl only days away and taking place IN Miami (the obvious dream silver platter scenario that the teamâs fans always fantasized about), there arises a problem when the teamâs actual dolphin mascot, Snowflake, is kidnapped right out of his tank and Ventura is brought in to investigate, only to uncover a bigger plan at work, with Snowflakeâs abduction being a mere psychological ploy to set things up for the real target, Marino. And why? Well, the film takes the near audacious step of rewriting NFL history itself, postulating the plot point that the one (and only) Super Bowl that Marino had ever appeared in was one that he had lost by just one point, ending on a missed, shanked chip shot field goal by a kicker who had then been immediately blackballed out of the league and forgotten (even as in real life Joe Montana and The San Francisco 49ers had completely blown out Marino and The Dolphins in that particular game while the filmâs scenario was more based upon Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood who DID suffer that indignity in The Super Bowl against The New York Giants). Ventura quickly figures out that if you find that kicker, then you find Snowflake (and Marino), and so itâs off he goes usually accompanied by a beautiful team employee played by Courteney Cox to find some answers, including a party gathering together the rich and affluent (hosted by Udo Kier) where we see that Ventura is truly in his element while mocking and outright disrespecting the elite elements among us, as well as desperately trying to do a spot check on every member of the Dolphins roster (including Shula), walking right onto a crime scene of an apparent suicide of a key character and making fools of all the cops by correctly deducting that it was murder, tracking down the family home of the disgraced kicker and discovering that his parents (especially his mother) are themselves a completely delusional pair of loons, and then sneaking into the mental hospital that the kicker was committed to and discovering the game changing clue. As said, the supporting cast are basically made to act like straight men to Carreyâs psychotic behavior (such as Cox, who most definitely provides a beautiful and stable presence) with the exception of Sean Young (herself possessing a real life history of mental illness and erratic behavior) as the Police Lieutenant investigating the case who hates Ventura with an absolute passion and treats him with nothing but contempt, but when one sees just where theyâre going with this character (and given Youngâs at the time recent well publicized scandal where she had allegedly fallen in love with and was even âstalkingâ James Woods), one has got to admit that it took some legitimate courage for her to play this type of role and to still be funny while doing it. On the other hand, Tone Loc is very âtonedâ down and plays most of his scenes with his eyes lowered as Venturaâs friend on the police force, while Marino himself shows that the game of football was truly his forte as he tries to play âhimselfâ as being likable and laid back, but really just seems kind of out of it (with an ominous comedic line about how he âgets hit in the head a lotâ, given how nearly every ex NFL player nowadays including himself claims to suffer greatly from the aftereffects of multiple concussions). Of course, the overall enjoyment and / or tolerance of the whole affair will vary greatly depending on each viewerâs general feelings about Carrey himself (who recently and stupidly alienated at least half of his fan base by flaunting his left wing political views in a very mocking and disparaging manner) and their general tolerance for certain bits such as when for pretty much no reason he goes into an (extended) series of impressions of various Star Trek characters or the moment when heâs pretending to be a crazed ex football player himself and thusly reenacts one of his glory moments on the field (complete with instant replay) or even arguably the single best moment in the movie when he actually pieces the case together along with probably the most appropriate music cue in movie comedy history (anyone familiar with early 90s Oscar bait films will know what Iâm talking about) to signal that indeed he has. The catchphrases spouted by the Ventura character (the oft used âAll righty then!â or the decidedly funnier âLike a glove!â after a masterful parking job) basically offset the fact that the actual story (stronger than usual for this type of film) is really NOT all that important, but as for being a vehicle which allows arguably the most renowned comedic genius of the 90s to just COMPLETELY cut loose and basically bring whatever he wanted to his performance (a freedom that many of the true comedy greats never really got), then thereâs really very little need for the viewer to worry whenever Ace is on the caseâŚ
9/10