Fun With Dick and Jane Movie Review:


After witnessing many of the trailers and advertising campaign for Fun With Dick & Jane, I was quite worried that this film would be another disastrous comedy. Well I was pleasantly surprised.

Jim Carrey stars as Dick Harper, a sleek up-incoming executive who has been dreaming about that all important promotion. When the day he has dreamed of finally arrives, Dick is asked to come to his boss’s house for lunch so they can discuss his new position.

Dick is ecstatic.

Upon arriving at his boss’s house, Dick is told by his boss (Alec Baldwin) that no matter what happens with the company he has to put a positive spin on it.

Dick is betrayed as the underbelly of the company implodes and Dick becomes the scapegoat.

Out of work and desperate, Dick and his wife Jane (Tea Leoni) must do whatever they can to keep their family afloat. How will Dick finally get back at his boss? How will the Harper’s pay their bills and keep their house?

When the marketing team got together to mount a campaign to promote this film they must not of understood what it was about or saying. The film is a social satire on big business and that is no where to be seen in the ads. All that is shown are some of the zany jobs and one-liners. The ads themselves should have been a satire as well. I would have loved to have seen some mock Big Business ads to promote this film.

“Dick & Jane” is fun because it never takes itself seriously and has two wonderful performances from Carrey and Leoni. These two are what makes this film such a gem to watch.

I also really loved a lot of the witty lines oozing with satire. One line that still makes me giggle is “We are kind of in a pickle, Dick!” I also liked the end credits thanking all the crooks of Enron and other corporate implosions.

I think audiences might have forgotten what a good satire is. Forget those gross-out or romantic comedies because those seem to be everywhere. This is the comedy to see.

So Says the Soothsayer



Dean Kish

Fans of Jim Carrey at his most manic will enjoy this remake of the 1977 George Segal-Jane Fonda caper comedy. But anyone who likes comedy with an edge will be disappointed at the way this film abandons its clever premise.

Dick and Jane Harper (Carrey and Leoni) are living an idyllic, anonymous, upscale lifestyle. Dick is made a vice president at the mega-corporation Globodyne, then before you can say Enron, the company collapses, taking Dick with it. Unable to find a new job, the Harpers sink into poverty and desperation, eventually turning to a life of crime to make ends meet. Finally, they team up with a former colleague (Jenkins) to make the top boss (Baldwin) pay for what he's done.

There's a superb script in here somewhere, with an astutely comedic take on the recent corporate scandals running alongside a lacerating satire of middle class consumerism. Unfortunately, little of that remains in the film. Director Parisot (who made the gem Galaxy Quest) seems to develop mixamitosis whenever his star and, more tellingly, producer is on screen. The camera stares like a bunny in headlamps as Carrey grimaces and flails. And it's just not funny.

When he's not clowning, Carrey actually creates an intriguing character and makes the most of some clever scenes, especially when he's working with the likeable and up-for-anything Leoni. And both Jenkins and Baldwin have their moments too. But none of the madcap slapstick set pieces work--the facial deformity episodes, the immigration escapade, the bank heist, the complicated final caper. It's consistently watchable, but we only laugh at a few throwaway gags that flit across the screen.

Besides the general lack of actual humour, the movie's main failing is in its refusal to take hold of the story's more serious undercurrents. Poking fun at these elements would have brought the humour to life, but the filmmakers only graze against relevant, identifiable, ripe-for-picking issues on their way to the next bit of pointlessly wacky shtick. By the end, you're still waiting for all that fun the title promised.

Rich Cline

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