Review of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) by Kevin P — 17 Jan 2018

Strengths: First and foremost, this succeeds where a comedy should. It's funny. There are tons of quotable moments and absurd situations that leave you in stitches. Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura) gives one of his better physical comedy performances. It's as if the role was written completely with only him in mind. He's perfect for the over the top zaniness of the character. A lot of it is the kind of stuff that might not read funny in the script, but comes to life because of Carrey.

Weaknesses: While Carrey shines, everyone else takes a step back and nobody stands out. Courteney Cox (Melissa), Sean Young (Finkle/Einhorn) and Tone Loc (Emilio) are all kind of just there. Dan Marino plays himself and still somehow manages to struggle. Most of the sexual jokes fall flat and a few things go too far over the top and miss the mark. The plot moves along at a good pace, though things are pretty far fetched to get from point A to point B.

Overall: It's not a movie with a great story, but it wasn't meant to be. It knows how ridiculous the setup is and they have fun with it. A few jokes miss, but for the most part, it's hilarious thanks to Jim Carrey and his antics.