The Clown: Rubber-faced ball of energy Jim Carrey
Crying on the Outside: Carrey doesn’t look like he can cry – and the permanent, manic high he introduced in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask was beginning to get annoying by 1998.
And then Peter Weir realised that Carrey’s inherent weirdness was perfect for a potentially uncastable role: Truman Burbank, the man whose entire life is a studio-generated lie. Carrey keeps that unique, oddball aura, but reigns it in enough to become remarkably touching.
Give Up the Day Job? Carrey seems hamstrung in flat-out dramatic leads like The Majestic and The Number 23. He remains bankably bonkers, if arguably uninspired, in Bruce Almighty and Yes Man.
But find one of the rare roles that lie in the no-man's-land in between, and Carrey can bring Eternal Sunshine through the clouds.
Try This...
Latest Reviews
Before Midnight
Man Of Steel
The Bling Ring
Comments
Rasputin
Jan 18th 2010, 10:48
Good stuff. I'd be interested to see one on actors going the other way, too: once serious stars either taking a brilliant turn into comedy or lowering themselves into poor family fare.
Alert a moderator
Rasputin
Jan 18th 2010, 10:48
Good stuff. I'd be interested to see one on actors going the other way, too: once serious stars either taking a brilliant turn into comedy or lowering themselves into poor family fare.
Alert a moderator
Hadouken76
Jan 18th 2010, 16:15
i think you're talking about meryl streep, whos just suddenly decided to have fun in romantic comedies like mama mia, julia & julia and its complicated. I think should Vince vaughn should stop phoning it in and return to drama, he was good in return to paradise and disturbin behaviour
Alert a moderator
DanRose
Jan 19th 2010, 9:52
The obvious example would be Bob DeNiro. Going from Worlds Greatest Actor in the 70's and 80's to a Focker....with relative success. Don't really like seeing DeNiro play funny. Much rather him going for intense. I blame Rocky and Bullwinkle personally. Also isn't Seam Penn going to be one of the Three Stooges?
Alert a moderator
Rasputin
Jan 19th 2010, 10:12
Well, De Niro's the obvious choice, but Streep's a good call
Alert a moderator
Rasputin
Jan 19th 2010, 10:13
Sorry, posted De Niro being obvious choice before I saw comment no4 - not saying you're being predictable, saying that's what I would have gone for......
Alert a moderator
micdog2001
Jan 19th 2010, 22:19
Jim Carrey was great in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I think it's his greatest performance. And it was only a cameo but Mike Myers in Ingloreus b*****ds was really strange. It was almost like seeing Dr. Evil try to act in a serious role.
Alert a moderator
Marvin
Jan 20th 2010, 5:09
I really enjoyed the article, but think that the topic is really a no-brainer. It seems to me that most actors want to take on both comedic and serious roles sometime during their careers. You could have had various other "funnymen" (or women) in your list that would have fit in nicely: Charlie Chaplin (who oftentimes went from comedy to tragedy effortlessly in a single film), John Belushi, John Candy, Lily Tomlin, etc., just to name a few. Not to mention all the "serious" actors who end up trying out comedy at some point during their career. You've heard some even admit, I'm sure, that "comedy is harder than tragedy." Entertaining piece, though.
Alert a moderator
Gav83
Jan 21st 2010, 15:44
"it was such a volte-face that the Academy virtually carved his name onto the gold fella there and then" Absolute rubbish. Liam Neeson was robbed of the best actor Oscar that year.
Alert a moderator