Dark Crimes (2018)

[RyanSz 3140]

Made in 2016 but only recently released, this crime thriller in the loosest sense of the word, features a grizzled Jim Carrey as a Polish detective investigating a cold case involving a dead businessman. This film comes in with a luxurious 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and is based on a true case from 2007. What's odd is that it's like Basic Instinct in that the main suspect is a novelist who wrote books and had mentioned aspects from the real crime in his books. Carrey is incredibly wooden and his accent is terrible, and at many points you have no idea what the fuck is going on. It's weird seeing the roles Carrey is choosing now as this and his role in The Bad Batch and they are so different than what he was doing when he started acting or even a few years ago with the Dumb & Dumber sequel. Even with a name like Carrey's attached to this film, this still is getting released direct-to-video, which is amazing considering Carrey was at one point the highest paid actor in the world.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

He clearly went through a mid life crisis a few years back with the whole creepy video he made about Emma Stone.

 

It's cool he's trying his hand at some more dramatic roles but he's never really shown an ability to do so.

 

Truman Show and The Majestic were both good movies, Truman Show in particular I think is my favorite movie of his. But neither were too demanding in terms of emotional range. I never saw Number 23 or whatever that movie was called, but I know it got a pretty overwhelming negative response as well.

 

I do legitimately love the paintings he's been doing recently though.

[RyanSz 3140]

He is definitely trying in this role but it appears that they cut back on his dialogue when it looked like he couldn't pull off the accent. I remember the Emma Stone thing but that was also when he went off the rails after doing Kick-Ass 2 and started to boycott his movie to combat gun violence, which one of the creators of the comic then called him out for not understanding that he could have used the movie as a platform for that message because the character he plays was anti-gun and did what he could to fight crime without firing one. It also doesn't help he went full-on anti-vaxxer over the last couple years which just seems to have alienated him more from his audience. In regards to his paintings, I think they're okay, despite the very overt political message, I did see some of his earlier artwork at an exhibit in Las Vegas and those were leaps and bounds better than what he's been putting out because it looks like he put time and effort into them, while it seems like he's putting out a new painting each week as of late.

 

The other problem with this movie is that it is edited so horribly you have no idea what's going on or what happened in the lead up to the start of the film. There are some clues given by characters, but not enough for you to grasp the overall story. I had to rewind the final 30 seconds three times to just understand what the hell was going on in the ending, and even then it's pretty ambiguous.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

His marriage to Jenny Mccarthy did him no favors. His art isnt amazing but he is clearly having fun which is what id rather he be doing than bothering to star in garbage movies like this.

 

If he wants to star in something dramatic it needs to be something that fits him rather than trying to shoehorn himself into something.

 

Adam Sandler is by no means someone I look as a go to dramatic actor but he was great in Punch Drunk Love and Reign Over Me. Carrey needs to find projects that fit him more rather than trying to just become some gritty actor that he's never been nor will be.

[RyanSz 3140]

See I understand him at least giving a complete 180 type role a shot, because if it works it really opens up opportunities for him. This film isn't like he's doing gunfights and karate battles, but a dreary police procedural, so it seemed like a safe shot for him to take. Yet no matter how hard he tried it couldn't compensate for how bland the overall film is. I will also say if I never see Jim Carrey's hardcore O-face, it would be too soon.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

I'd love to see him in some different roles, I just think he bit off more than he could chew with both a humorless role and an accent.

 

Also he's such a dynamic presence it almost just feels like a waste to have him in such a restrained role. They could have swapped him with anyone else and it really wouldn't have changed the movie in any significant way.

 

I'd like to see him in a role like Robin Williams character in One Hour Photo. Which I thought was fantastic. It was a really dark and tense movie that really benefited from Williams manic energy.

 

I think if he does decide to pivot and start doing some different roles I think they should still acknowledge and play on his strengths as an actor.

[RyanSz 3140]

Yeah if went that route where he did a string of darker roles closer to his wheelhouse as Williams' dark trilogy of films (Insomnia, One Hour Photo, and Death to Smoochy) were some of his best performances, it would really suit Carrey at this point in his career. And you're right about Carrey and this role, he was actually pretty good in this film along with the antagonist, but this movie just flomped like when you put a can of beans on a campfire and watch it slowly rise out of the can only to fall into the fire.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

Thats the funniest thing about this movie, because its so bland and by the books his measured performance does significantly more to harm the movie.

 

If his performance were a bit more unhinged it might have made some people able to enjoy it on a greater level.

 

Now imagine him playing a character like James Mcavoy in Split and I think it'd be a much greater display of his talents.