This is a film I, along with many others, dismissed as bland,strange, and bogus upon it's release in 1996. I wasn't, and am not now a Carrey fan. His comedy during his build up years was too wacky and manic for me. Kind of funny if one was high I suppose, but thats just me. Millions of people adored the guy. Stiller I did like then,thinking of him as somewhat of a genius at the time and in the next few following years of his work. Strangely this has reversed. I appreciate Carrey's work now much more in retrospect and Stiller seems stale to me.
This movie is a very dark film, bordering on horror-suspense. I saw someone mention that Carreys overacting mania is, and this is probably the only time, quite appropriate for his role. In his zany comedies, yeah I get the point, I just get turned off by it. But here, it totally works with the role.
The failure in reviews and box office, if in fact this was a true B.O. failure, I cant recall, was due to people not ready for Carrey in anything but zany stuff. The critics found it unfunny and uneven. They were wrong, as was I, this thing has aged very well. Put this release next to Carreys subsequent work in quasi-dramas and you cant deny this is a top-notch portrayal. Not an easy movie, not a hilarious movie. Just a very,very dark and very, very good movie.
This movie is a very dark film, bordering on horror-suspense. I saw someone mention that Carreys overacting mania is, and this is probably the only time, quite appropriate for his role. In his zany comedies, yeah I get the point, I just get turned off by it. But here, it totally works with the role.
The failure in reviews and box office, if in fact this was a true B.O. failure, I cant recall, was due to people not ready for Carrey in anything but zany stuff. The critics found it unfunny and uneven. They were wrong, as was I, this thing has aged very well. Put this release next to Carreys subsequent work in quasi-dramas and you cant deny this is a top-notch portrayal. Not an easy movie, not a hilarious movie. Just a very,very dark and very, very good movie.