By Alan Smithee
Special to Mutato
I laughed all the way through "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls." I laughed so hard because Jim Carrey makes all these funny faces and twists his mouth in every scene. I laughed because I paid money to see the movie and I wanted to like it, and so did the rest of the audience. So any time I realized the movie was making a joke, I laughed very hard because I wanted to be like everyone else and not feel like I was being ripped off.
The hilarious story is about Ace, a "pet detective" who is supposed to stand for animal rights, but he acts so stupid throughout the movie that he kind of makes fun of those people. He's sad because he was in a situation just like the beginning of "Cliffhanger" and he blames himself for an animal's death. So, get this, he joins a Buddhist sanctuary in Tibet and seeks spiritual fulfillment. Isn't that funny? Jim Carrey in a Buddhist sanctuary? It's so outrageous!
Then, Ace goes to Africa where he is hired to find Shikaka, a legendary white bat that is the sacred animal of the Wachati tribe. You know how Ace loves animals? Well, he really hates bats! Get it? Jim Carrey just played the Riddler in "Batman Forever" and now he hates bats! I have never laughed so hard.
There's a lot of tribal peoples and rituals and the movie is so funny when it makes fun of them over and over again. Watch the natives welcome Ace by spitting on him, and then watch as Ace spits a really big lugey on them! See a man trying to balance himself on a pole to gain spiritual fulfillment, and then see Ace shoot spit wads at him trying to knock him off! Watch Ace repeat the native god's name over and over so that the natives have to keep kneeling down, kneeling down, kneeling down. They looked so stupid! I realize it may not be "politically correct" for the movie to make these jokes, but I don't take them seriously Ÿ I just laughed till I hurt.
The whole movie is a series of things we've all seen before, but Jim Carrey makes it all new with his wild movements and spastic grimaces. I couldn't get enough of him. I really appreciate movie stars and filmmakers who make movies just for me. They aren't trying to be "profound" or witty, they just want my money. They don't expect me to think or be all "analytical" and stuff. They just make movies based on old formulas that I recognize and don't feel confused by. All those "intellectuals" think a multimillion dollar movie should have a point or that it has to be creative in some way, but they just want to feel better than everyone else. I just want to be entertained, and "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" does that with flying colors. Go see it. You'll love it.